Conditional formatting provides visual cues to help you make sense of your data. For example, it’ll clearly show highs and lows or other data trends based on criteria you provide.

I want to see how much each salesperson sold. I select the range of cells and sales, click the “Quick Analysis” button, and use the default formatting tab. When I move across the formatting options, a live preview shows me what my data will look like. Data bars provide what I want, so I click it, and now I have an eye-catching visual representation of the data, making it easier to analyze.

You can apply multiple conditional formats to the same cells. Select the cells, click the button, and click another format option, such as Icon Set. By default, these indicate the upper third, middle third, and lower third of the values.

You can also apply conditional formatting to text. Notice the formatting options for text are different than those for money. Formatting options differ between many different types of data. I select "Text Contains" and enter "oil." I'm leaving the formatting set to the default, and the cells that contain "oil" are formatted in red—they really stand out. If you change the text in a cell so that it contains "oil," the formatting automatically changes.

UP NEXT: Conditionally formatting dates.