But this time, set the text box entry to Stock OK, set the font color to green, and make sure the font style is normal, not bold. Now do the same thing again, starting with the plus-sign click. Make sure nothing is filled in on the Border and Fill tabs, then click OK (to close the fourth window), and click OK again (to close the third). Click on the Font tab, and set the Color pop-up to red, and click the Bold entry in the Font Style box. Set the Format With pop-up to Custom Format, which will open a fourth window. Set the next two pop-ups to Specific Text and Containing, and then type Order Soon! in the text box. In this newest window, leave the Style pop-up set to Classic, then set the second pop-up to Format Only Cells That Contain. When the New Formatting Rule window appears, set the Style pop-up to Classic, which will open yet another window (that’s three windows, and you haven’t even created a single rule yet).
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In the new window that appears, click the plus sign (to add a new rule). By creating a conditional highlighting/formatting rule, it’s possible to change the cell’s format based on the value.Įxcel: Select the range from G2 to G8 (in this example), then select the Format > Conditional Formatting menu item. But that doesn’t make sense for Stock OK that might be better rendered as light green and not boldfaced.
Ideally, the Order Soon! alert should be bold and red. That change is simple: =IF(E2/F2<1.25,"Order Soon!","Stock OK"). Instead of having the formula simply display an alert when supplies are low, we can modify the formula to display a message stating that there’s plenty of inventory. But as one example of what it can do for you, consider the IF function example, used earlier to fill in the Order Alert column. Both Excel and Sheets refer to it as Conditional Formatting, and you’ll find it with that name in the Format menu of both apps.Ĭonditional formatting is a complex topic to fully explore it requires many more words than we have here. Numbers refers to this feature as Conditional Highlighting, and you’ll find it in the Cell tab of the Format sidebar. It’s just what it sounds like: Formatting that changes based on conditions you specify. That’s when conditional formatting is really handy. Click OK, and Excel will insert the names into any function that references a named cell or range. Hold down the key, click on the first name in the list, then click the last name in the list to select them all. Select Insert > Name > Apply, and you’ll get a little window showing all your named cells and ranges. Once you’ve defined all your names, Excel even provides a way to apply them to existing functions. Repeat for as many names as you’d like to define. Type the name you’d like to create in the first box, then click Add. Now it’s a lot clearer what’s going on, and you no longer need to remember that cell C5 is the annual interest rate.Įxcel: Select the cell or range you’d like to name, then select Insert > Name > Define, which will pop up a new window. Here’s the same formula using named cells: =PMT(INT_RATE/12,TERM,LOAN_AMT). But really, it’s not easy to discern what this formula is doing. Just by reading it, you can probably guess that it returns a payment of some sort, and maybe you can tell that cell C5 contains an annual interest rate. If you name cells (and ranges), however, you can make the formula easier to read, as well as make reusing those cells in other formulas easier.Ĭonsider this formula as an example: =PMT(C5/12,C6,C7). It also means you need to remember the location of often-used cells, which can be tricky in a large spreadsheet. Referring to cells by location may be convenient, but it can also make it hard to figure out exactly what a given formula is doing. Merged cells are a powerful way to get away from the strict column-and-row layout of a typical spreadsheet. This is a great way to center a header above a number of columns, for example. Merged cells are what they sound like: two or more cells merged into one. As in Excel, you can create custom number formats that mix text and numbers-but you have to find the option first, as it’s buried in the Format > Numbers > More Formats submenu.Īnother useful formatting trick is to merge cells.
Sheets: All number formats can be found in the Format > Number menu each formatting option appears in its own submenu.
Numbers offers a bunch of specialized number formats, including Slider. (Numbers also includes special number formats such as Slider, Stepper, Pop-up Menu, and more these can be used to create intuitive data entry forms.)
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You may need to set other values: For example, if you choose Numeral System, you’ll need to set values for Base, Places, and how to represent negative numbers. Select the option (Automatic, Number, and so on) you want to use from the pop-up menu. Numbers: Click the Format icon (the paintbrush) in the toolbar, then select the Cell entry in the resulting sidebar.