Forum Discussion
Color coded dropdown lists
Let's say your drop-down list has options One, Two and Three, and you want to color the cell red, yellow or green depending on the selected item.
Select the cell or cells with the drop-down.
On the home tab of the ribbon, click Conditional Formatting > New Rule...
Select 'Format only cells that contain'.
Leave the first drop down set to 'Cell Value'.
Select 'equal to' from the second drop down.
In the box next to it, enter the formula="One"
Click Format...
Activate the Fill tab.
Select red as highlight color.
Click OK, then click OK again.Repeat these steps, but with ="Two" as formula and yellow as fill color.
Repeat them again, with ="Three" as formula and green as fill color.
Thanks HansVogelaar for the quick response. I don't use Excel very often, how do I do the create part you've mentioned please? Feel free to point me to existing instructions!
Let's say your drop-down list has options One, Two and Three, and you want to color the cell red, yellow or green depending on the selected item.
Select the cell or cells with the drop-down.
On the home tab of the ribbon, click Conditional Formatting > New Rule...
Select 'Format only cells that contain'.
Leave the first drop down set to 'Cell Value'.
Select 'equal to' from the second drop down.
In the box next to it, enter the formula
="One"
Click Format...
Activate the Fill tab.
Select red as highlight color.
Click OK, then click OK again.
Repeat these steps, but with ="Two" as formula and yellow as fill color.
Repeat them again, with ="Three" as formula and green as fill color.
HansVogelaar Thanks - I followed the instructions and get an error message saying "Enter a valid formula" - see photo
- Thanks so much - it works!! Really appreciate your clarity and patience 🙂 (why is there a limit on how many messages can be posted in 14,400 seconds??? Where is that number plucked from?!) Is there another place for unlimited instant messaging where you can also get help/advice? I was unable to post this yesterday as a result, sorry
HansVogelaar Thank you for sharing this response to the original question regarding Excel and coloured drop down lists.
for me it doesnt work...care to help?
Could you attach a small sample workbook demonstrating the problem (without sensitive data), or if that is not possible, make it available through OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox or similar?
