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Conditional formatting in Excel allows users to format cells based on specific conditions. One useful application of this feature is to apply formatting to a cell only if another cell is not empty. This means that the formatting will only be applied to the target cell if the specified cell is not blank. This can be helpful in highlighting important information or identifying incomplete data. By setting up this conditional formatting rule, users can easily identify and work with relevant data without the need for manual sorting or filtering.
Excel: Conditional Formatting if Another Cell is Not Empty
To apply conditional formatting to cells in Excel if another specific cell is not empty, you can use the New Rule option under the Conditional Formatting dropdown menu within the Home tab.
The following example shows how to use this option in practice.
Example: Apply Conditional Formatting if Another Cell is Not Empty
Suppose we have the following dataset in Excel that contains information about various basketball teams:
Suppose we’d like to highlight each of the cells in the Team column if the cell in the corresponding Rating column is not empty.
To do so, we can highlight the cells in the range A2:A11, then click the Conditional Formatting dropdown menu on the Home tab and then click New Rule:
In the new window that appears, click Use a formula to determine which cells to format, then type =NOT(ISBLANK(B2)) in the box, then click the Format button and choose a fill color to use.
Once we press OK, the only Team values that have a green background are the ones where the corresponding value in the Rating column are not empty:
Note: We chose to use a light green fill for the conditional formatting in this example, but you can choose any color and style you’d like for the conditional formatting.
The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in Excel:
Cite this article
stats writer (2024). How can I apply conditional formatting in Excel to a cell only if another cell is not empty?. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-can-i-apply-conditional-formatting-in-excel-to-a-cell-only-if-another-cell-is-not-empty/
stats writer. "How can I apply conditional formatting in Excel to a cell only if another cell is not empty?." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 25 Jun. 2024, https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-can-i-apply-conditional-formatting-in-excel-to-a-cell-only-if-another-cell-is-not-empty/.
stats writer. "How can I apply conditional formatting in Excel to a cell only if another cell is not empty?." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2024. https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-can-i-apply-conditional-formatting-in-excel-to-a-cell-only-if-another-cell-is-not-empty/.
stats writer (2024) 'How can I apply conditional formatting in Excel to a cell only if another cell is not empty?', PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Available at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/stats/how-can-i-apply-conditional-formatting-in-excel-to-a-cell-only-if-another-cell-is-not-empty/.
[1] stats writer, "How can I apply conditional formatting in Excel to a cell only if another cell is not empty?," PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, June, 2024.
stats writer. How can I apply conditional formatting in Excel to a cell only if another cell is not empty?. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. 2024;vol(issue):pages.