Highlight the cell if greater than value in the next column

So I tried experimenting with conditional formatting, but unable to find a way to highlight the cells in the column if their value is greater than the one in the next column under the same row.

For example:

102 | 110 (highlight right cell)
130 | 120 (highlight left cell)
122 | 133 (highlight right cell)

How would I go about doing this?

btrballin

Posted 2017-07-05T03:50:28.123

Reputation: 175

What product are you using? Don't tag with both Excel and Google sheets. There are differences, and what applies to one will not apply to the other. – teylyn – 2017-07-05T05:50:04.447

Answers

Here are the steps for Excel. Assuming the first value is in A1,

select A1 to B3
click Conditional Formatting > New Rule
click Use a formula to determine
enter this formula into the formula box and take care with the dollar signs

=A1=MAX($A1:$B1)
Click the Format button and set the desired format.
confirm all dialogs.

In Google sheets, select the cells, create a conditional format with "Custom formula is" and apply the same formula.

teylyn

Posted 2017-07-05T03:50:28.123

Reputation: 19 551

Thanks. I did something similar. Instead I used a custom formula where I did =A1 < B1 instead of using MAX. The targeted cells were the values in 1 column. I had to repeat the same thing for the other column. – btrballin – 2017-07-05T17:58:41.080

Sorry, didn't see the Excel tag, only the Google Spreadsheets. This example is for Google Sheets. The concept is identical, but the wording may be different for Excel.

Use conditional formatting.

In the left column, select your range (eg A1:A3) then under Format select Conditional Formatting.
Select the Formatting Style greater than
In the "Value or formula" field enter `=B1'

Repeat for column B, referencing cell A1.

Ian

Posted 2017-07-05T03:50:28.123

Reputation: 822

No need for two different rules. See my answer for how to do this with one rule. – teylyn – 2017-07-05T06:02:09.860

Thanks for the answer. I am actually using Google Sheets, but Excel and Sheets are so similar that I just added both as tags to increase the overall reach of my question – btrballin – 2017-07-05T18:25:39.130