Conditional Formatting Based on Date in Excel

Conditional formatting based on date in Excel allows you to automatically apply formatting to cells containing dates, depending on the criteria you set. This is useful for highlighting important dates, deadlines, or upcoming events in your worksheet.

Here's how to apply conditional formatting based on date in Excel:

1. Select the range of cells containing the dates you want to format. For example, if you have dates in cells A1:A10, click and drag to select A1:A10.
2. Click the "Home" tab in the Excel ribbon.
3. In the "Styles" group, click "Conditional Formatting."
4. Hover over "Highlight Cell Rules" and then select "More Rules" from the submenu that appears.
5. In the "New Formatting Rule" dialog box, choose "Format only cells that contain" in the "Select a Rule Type" section.
6. In the "Edit the Rule Description" section, choose "Cell Value" from the first drop-down list, then select a date-related condition from the second drop-down list. The available conditions include:
   • "less than"
   • "less than or equal to"
   • "equal to"
   • "not equal to"
   • "greater than or equal to"
   • "greater than"
7. In the third field, you can either type a date or click the small calendar icon to select a date. You can also input a cell reference if you want to compare the date with another cell's value.
8. Click the "Format" button to choose the formatting you want to apply when the condition is met. You can change the font, border, or fill color.
9. Click "OK" to close the "Format Cells" dialog box and then click "OK" again to close the "New Formatting Rule" dialog box.

Excel will now apply the conditional formatting to the selected range based on the date criteria you set.

Example

Let's say you have a list of tasks with their due dates in column A (from A2 to A10), and you want to highlight the tasks that are due within the next 7 days.

1. Select the range A2:A10.
2. Click the "Home" tab, then click "Conditional Formatting" in the "Styles" group.
3. Hover over "Highlight Cell Rules" and click "More Rules."
4. Choose "Format only cells that contain" in the "Select a Rule Type" section.
5. In the "Edit the Rule Description," select "less than or equal to" from the second drop-down list.
6. In the third field, type the formula =TODAY()+7 to represent the date 7 days from today.
7. Click the "Format" button and choose the formatting you want to apply (e.g., yellow fill color).
8. Click "OK" twice to apply the conditional formatting.

Now, any tasks with due dates within the next 7 days will be highlighted with the formatting you chose.