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Hilotc's avatar
Hilotc
Copper Contributor
Apr 27, 2023

Flash a cell

Aloha, I am a beginner using Excel and have to admit overwhelmed with this amazing program.

I am setting up a sheet to track money and want cells to flash if their value drops below $1,475.00.

How do I do that? Mahalo,

2 Replies

  • NikolinoDE's avatar
    NikolinoDE
    Gold Contributor

    Hilotc 

    In Excel, you can use conditional formatting to make a cell flash if its value drops below a certain amount. Here's how you can do it:

     

    1. Select the cell or cells that you want to apply the formatting to.
    2. Click on the Home tab and select Conditional Formatting.
    3. From the drop-down menu, select New Rule.
    4. In the New Formatting Rule dialog box, select "Format only cells that contain".
    5. Under "Format only cells with", select "Cell Value" in the first drop-down menu and "less than" in the second drop-down menu.
    6. In the field next to "less than", enter the value 1475.
    7. Click on the Format button and select the Fill tab.
    8. Choose a fill color for the cell and click OK.
    9. Click OK again to apply the formatting rule.

     

    Now, if the value in the selected cell or cells drops below $1,475.00, the cell will be filled with the color you chose.

     

    Please note that Excel does not have a built-in feature to make a cell flash or blink.

    The above steps will change the fill color of the cell if its value drops below $1,475.00, but it will not make it flash. You need to use VBA Code for blinking.

    I have inserted a file as a VBA example for you. If cell A1 is less than 1475 then it blinks. You can set it any way you like. Prerequisite is that you are familiar with VBA.

     

    I hope this helps!

     

    • Valdon1070's avatar
      Valdon1070
      Copper Contributor
      Niko -- I too wanted to get a cell to flash but after many hours of desperation I discovered your instruction and it's great. Thanks a lot. However my need is to have another person in another location be made aware that a particular cell in a sheet needs to have a value. In your instruction the start of the flashing is manual as it has to be. Is it possible to have the flashing cease when the value is inserted? The cell/s will have a numeric value of 500-10,000 so could the instruction be to stop flashing if the cell becomes, "not-null", or, ">1" ? Would you mind updating the code to this effect for me.
      Valdon1070

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