Manually combing through spreadsheets with large datasets can be a massive headache at times. Luckily, conditional formatting exists in Microsoft Excel specifically for this reason. This automation helps you visualize your spreadsheet in a completely different way, allows you to find important data quickly, and also makes your spreadsheet much more appealing to the eye. Excel even makes it easy to find - Conditional Formatting options are front and center on the Home tab.

So, if you think your spreadsheets look a little boring, or if you just want to add a little personality to them, then follow along as we show you the five ways you can beautify your Excel spreadsheets with the conditional formatting rules available in Excel.

If you are trying to apply one of the conditional formats below, but it doesn't work, make sure that you don't have any special characters in the cell if you are using the number format.

5 Icon sets

Add a little personality to your spreadsheet

Icon sets are a conditional formatting rule that is hit or miss for people. While other formats on this list may be better at visualizing your data, this rule adds a more artistic flair to your spreadsheet. Using Icon Sets, as the name suggests, lets you add icons to your cells, which helps with showing trends in your data or if certain targets have been reached.

There are quite a few default icons to choose from, with the most useful being the arrow and check mark icons. You can choose to automatically add icons when a certain value has been met, or you can add them manually yourself, depending on your own criteria. If you don't find any of the default icons useful, then you can also add your own custom icons to the spreadsheet.

4 Top/bottom rules

Easily find the highest and lowest values in your data

Using the top/bottom rule, you can highlight the highest or lowest values in your data set. This rule shows the 10 top or bottom cells of the data set by default, but you can change this to show any number of cells. If you are dealing with a large data set, then you could use the top or bottom 10% rule.

If you want to show the top 10 and lowest 10 cells in the same spreadsheet, then make sure to add both functions and change the color for each. This is very useful for a sales spreadsheet to show which sales person has made the most sales or to see what products have sold the most during a given time period.

3 Data bars

Turn your spreadsheet into a bar graph

Data bars are another great option for measuring higher values in your dataset without having to manually compare numbers throughout your spreadsheet. There are only two visual options when using this format; Gradient Fill and Solid Fill. This affects the transparency of your data bars, but you can still choose any color you like for the data bars. This rule essentially turns your spreadsheet into a horizontal bar graph.

This function is more effective when you only have one column of data, but as you can see in the image above, you can do it with multiple columns as well.

2 Color Scales

Especially useful for spreadsheets with large data sets

The Color Scale format uses different color gradients to highlight your cells from lowest to highest. Usually, it will be a lighter color for lower values and a darker color for higher values, but this rule can also be customized to your liking.

When you apply this format, your whole spreadsheet will appear like a heatmap, which allows you to easily differentiate between the highest and lowest values in your data without having to compare all the numbers in a spreadsheet.

1 Highlight Cells Rules

Easily highlight the most important data

The Highlight Cells Rules will let you change the format of a variety of cells in your data set. It is the most versatile rule, and it enables you to easily highlight various data points in your spreadsheet based on your own custom criteria. This is, for most people, the most useful predefined rule due to the wide variety of functions you can make it perform.

Using the default options, you can set the rule to highlight values greater than or lower than a certain number, highlight keywords in your spreadsheet, and even highlight particular dates and times. You could also utilize this rule to highlight cells that have duplicate values so that you don't have to manually scroll through your spreadsheet to find duplicates in your data.

Using Custom formatting rules

Excel makes it easy to save yourself some time and effort by automating processes, and in this case, in a way that's easy on the eyes. If none of the above formatting rules suit your needs, then you'll be happy to know that you can also set custom formatting rules for your spreadsheet to suit your preferences. If you are interested in creating your own rules for your Excel spreadsheet, then make sure to read How I use conditional formatting to automate my Excel spreadsheets like a pro.