Deleting Conditional Formatting

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 4, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365

Conditional formats, to Excel, are just like any other format. That means that you can delete them by simply deleting all the formatting in a cell. Follow these steps:

  1. Select the cell or cells whose formatting you want to delete.
  2. Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
  3. In the Editing group, click Clear | Clear Formats.

That's it. All the formatting is removed from the cells, including any conditional formatting. If you don't want to delete any explicit formatting in the cell, but instead want to delete just the conditional formats, follow these steps:

  1. Select the cells from which you want to delete the conditional formatting.
  2. Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
  3. In the Styles section, click Conditional Formatting. Excel displays various options related to conditional formatting.
  4. Choose Clear Rules | Clear Rules from Selected Cells.

If you don't want to delete all the conditional formatting rules, then you need to follow these steps, instead:

  1. Select the cells from which you want to delete the conditional formatting.
  2. Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
  3. In the Styles section, click Conditional Formatting. Excel displays various options related to conditional formatting.
  4. Click Manage Rules. Excel displays the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager. (See Figure 1.)

    5. Figure 1. The Conditional Formatting Rules Manger.

  5. From the list of available rules, select the one you want to delete.
  6. Click Delete Rule.
  7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for any other rules you want to delete from the selected cells.
  8. Click OK to close the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager dialog box.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6815) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Counting Shaded Cells

Ever want to know how many cells in a worksheet (or a selection) are shaded in some way? You can create a handy little ...

Discover More

Determining If the End of a Text File Has Been Reached

When writing a macro that processes a text file, you may need to know when the end of the file has been reached. This is ...

Discover More

Enhanced Filling

Using the AutoFill feature of Excel is very handy. If you want to expand the utility offered by the feature, all you need ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Protecting Conditional Formatting

When you apply conditional formatting to the cells in your worksheet, those rules can seem a bit fragile at times. For ...

Discover More

Diagonal Borders in a Conditional Format

Conditional formatting is a great tool for changing how your data looks based on the data itself. Excel won't allow you ...

Discover More

Alerts About Approaching Due Dates

You may use Excel to track due dates for a variety of purposes. As a due date approaches, you may want that fact drawn to ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 6 + 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.