Conditional Formatting

APPLIES TO

  • Smartsheet
  • Pro
  • Business
  • Enterprise

RELATED CAPABILITIES

Who can use this capability?

To create or modify conditional formatting rules, you must be the sheetOwneror haveAdmin-level sharing access to the sheet. A license is required.

Conditional formatting allows you to create rules on your sheet, whereby the formatting of individual cells or entire rows will update when certain criteria are met. For example, if a task is past due, you may want the text to turn red and bold to ensure that it's quickly noticed.

Use conditional formatting to automatically highlight key information in your sheets, making them easier to read and more valuable for your whole team.

Follow these step-by-step instructions to create a conditional formatting rule.

Apply formatting automatically with conditional formatting rules

APPLIES TO

  • Smartsheet
  • Pro
  • Business
  • Enterprise

RELATED CAPABILITIES

Who can use this capability?

To create or modify conditional formatting rules, you must be the sheetOwneror haveAdmin-level sharing access to the sheet. A license is required.

使用条件格式改变appearance of rows or cells based on the values they contain. For example, you can set an overdue task to appear in red.

Conditional formatting doesn’t change cell values. To change cell values based on criteria, use a formula. For more information about formulas, seeCreate and Edit Formulas in Smartsheet.

Conditional formatting from linked cells is not preserved in the destination sheet.

There are three steps to applying conditional formatting:

  1. Set conditions for the rule.
  2. Define the format applied when the conditions are met.
  3. Set where you want the format applied.

Set conditions for the rule

  1. On the top toolbar, selectConditional FormattingConditional formatting icon.
  2. SelectAdd New Rule.
  3. Select.
    A screenshot of the Conditional Formatting dialog
    The condition determines what triggers the formatting change. For example, to apply a background color to all rows assigned to a specific person, select the column namedAssigned Toin the left pane and the specific person in the right pane.

Things to know about setting conditions

  • Available criteria depend on the column type.
    • For a checkbox column:The criteria would beCheckedorUnchecked.
    • For a date column:It might bein the pastorin the next [x] days.
  • Smartsheet looks at the numbers in a column formatted for percentage (for example, a % Complete column) as values between 0 and 1. Use decimal values (examples: 0.25 for 25%, 0.5 for 50%) to get the correct comparison.
  • To further customize your rule, selectdefine custom criteriaat the top of the criteria box.
  • To format rows that do not meet your criteria, selectApply format when condition is NOT met.

Define the format

Set up the text format you want to appear when the row meets the conditions you identified. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. In theConditional Formattingdialog, selectthis format.
  2. Use the pop-up box to style your formatting:
    • Font:Choose a font style.
    • Font Size:Set up the text size.
    • Task Bar:If you have a Gantt chart, use this to automatically change the task bar color when the row meets the conditions you identified.
      The color(s) you choose here will be applied to the Gantt and calendar bars.
    • Other formatting buttons:Set up the text formats you want to appear.
      formatting options

Set where you want the format applied

  1. By default, the format applies to the entire row. To change this, selectentire row, and then select the column(s) where you want to apply the formula.An image of the conditional rule
    If multiple rules have the same condition and formatting, Smartsheet consolidates them into a single rule.
  2. To close theConditional Formattingdialog, selectOK.