Excel Conditional Formatting with the TODAY function | Duplicate Rule

Posted on: 05/16/2022

The TODAY function is one of my favorite Date & Time functions in Excel. It returns the current date and will automatically update. We will use the TODAY function with Conditional Formatting and create three rules on a date field.

**Excel Conditional Formatting with the Today Function**

The date field can be any date field - order date, invoice date, request date, etc. I used the ship date in my example. If the cell's date equals the current date, we will put that one color, any dates less than today's date in another color, and dates greater than today in a third color.

Conditional formatting is located on the Home tab. After writing the first rule, =$G2=TODAY(), I copied the rules to create the other two rules. Here is a screenshot of all three rules.

Recent Microsoft Word articles

YouTube Video - Conditional Formatting with the TODAY Function

Chapters/Bookmarks

0:00 Intro
0:26 Ship date
0:44 Rule 1 - $G2=TODAY()
1:47 Mixed Reference
3:57 Rule 2 - Duplicate rule
4:47 Rule 3
5:20 Resize Conditional Formatting

Recent Teams articles

TODAY Function

=TODAY() The TODAY function has no arguments and will return the current date. When the file is open again, the date will automatically update.It is a great Date & Time Function.

Conditional Formatting Rules

Three rules:

Greater Than
Less Than
Equal To

Conditional Formatting Rules — **Three conditional formatting rules**

Recent Excel Articles

Optimizing Excel Formulas with Copilot: A Comprehensive Guide

Five Methods for Creating Running Totals in Excel

Excel is a powerful tool that offers various features to manipulate and analyze data efficiently. One of the useful functionalities it provides is the ability to create running totals, which can be essential for tracking cumulative sums over a period.

Mastering Conditional Formatting in Excel with Copilot: A Step-by-Step Guide

Mastering Excel is a critical skill for many professionals across various industries. Among the many features Excel offers, conditional formatting stands out for its ability to visually highlight important data. In this guide, we delve into the world of conditional formatting with the help of Excel's Copilot feature.

Copilot for Excel - Is it Accurate? 11 Tests Performed

Here's a detailed analysis of Microsoft Copilot in Excel. I delve into Copilot's functionalities with a series of tests, emphasizing its precision and capability in handling a variety of tasks within Excel.

March 14, 2024 - Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Copilot

March 14, 2024 - Join our webinar to explore Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365. Discover how administrators can leverage its time-saving features across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.

April 13, 2024 - Excel Training for MBA Students from the University of Georgia

I'm proud to announce I'll train the University of Georgia MBA students from the Terry College of Business in Excel on Saturday, April 13, 2024. Excel training will be hands-on.

Chris Menard

Chris Menard is a certified Microsoft Trainer (MCT) and works as a full-time Trainer at BakerHostetler - one of the largest law firms in the US. He runs a YouTube channel with 900+ technology videos that cover various tools such as Excel, Word, Zoom, Teams, Gmail, Google Calendar, and Outlook. To date, the channel has helped over 20 million viewers. Menard also does 2 to 3 public speaking events every year, presenting at the Administrative Professional Conference (APC), the EA Ignite Conference, the Support Staff Conference, the University of Georgia, and CPA conferences. You can connect with him on LinkedIn at https://chrismenardtraining.com/linkedin or watch his videos on YouTube at https://chrismenardtraining.com/youtube.