What is excel conditional formatting duplicates

Answer

Excel Conditional Formatting Duplicates is a feature that highlights cells in a worksheet containing duplicate or repeated values. This feature makes it easy to identify patterns, errors, or repeated entries in a dataset without manually scanning rows and columns.

How Does It Work?

Conditional Formatting applies a visual style, such as a fill color, font color, or border, to cells based on a condition. When using it for duplicates, Excel automatically compares each cell in the selected range and highlights values that appear more than once.

Steps to Highlight Duplicate Values in Excel

1. Select the range of cells where duplicates need to be identified.

2. Go to the Home tab on the Ribbon.

3. Click Conditional Formatting → Highlight Cells Rules → Duplicate Values.

4. In the Duplicate Values dialog box, choose whether to highlight Duplicate or Unique values.

5. Select the formatting style (such as a red fill, green text, or custom formatting).

6. Click OK to apply the formatting.

Notes on Usage

• Conditional Formatting does not remove duplicates; it only highlights them.

• It works for text, numbers, and dates.

• If the data changes, Excel updates the highlighted duplicates automatically.

• To remove the formatting, select the range, click Conditional Formatting → Clear Rules → Clear Rules from Selected Cells.

• On a Mac, the process is the same, but the Ribbon layout might appear slightly different.

Example

Suppose you have the following list in column A:

A

1 Apple

2 Orange

3 Banana

4 Apple

5 Grape

6 Orange

Applying Conditional Formatting for duplicates highlights Apple and Orange, making them visually distinct and easier to spot.

Advanced Tip

For more control over duplicates, use a formula in Conditional Formatting:

1. Select the range, for example, A1:A6.

2. Click Conditional Formatting → New Rule → Use a formula to determine which cells to format.

3. Enter the formula: 

   =COUNTIF($A$1:$A$6,A1)>1

4. Choose a format and click OK.

This formula highlights any value appearing more than once in the specified range.

This method is highly flexible and works for complex datasets, including multiple columns or dynamic ranges.

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