Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Conditionally Formatting for Multiple Date Comparisons.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 7, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365
Bev is having a problem setting up a conditional format for some cells. What she wants to do is to format the cells so that if they contain a date before today, they will use a bold red font; if they contain a date after today, they will use a bold green font. Bev cannot get both conditions to work properly.
What is probably happening here is a frustrating artifact of the way that Excel parses the conditions you enter. Follow these steps to see what I mean:
Figure 1. The New Formatting Rule dialog box.
Any dates prior to today will be bold red and any after today will be bold green. If the date is today's date, then it will not be formatted in any particular manner.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12929) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Conditionally Formatting for Multiple Date Comparisons.
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2019-07-09 07:25:21
Richard
While I understand the steps presented, I don't understand the significance of the phrase "What is probably happening here is a frustrating artifact of the way that Excel parses the conditions you enter."
I thought you would have illustrated Bev's problem but it appears that you have simply shown a solution.
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