Conditional formatting with dates in Excel - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the formula to highlight cells with dates greater than today.

Excel

=A1 [1] TODAY()

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A<

B>

C=

D<=

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '<' instead of '>' causes the wrong dates to be highlighted.

Using '=' only highlights dates exactly equal to today.

The formula checks if the date in cell A1 is after today.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the formula to highlight dates within the last 7 days.

Excel

=AND(A1 >= TODAY() [1] 7, A1 <= TODAY())

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A*

B+

C-

D/

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '+' adds days, which checks future dates instead of past.

Using '*' or '/' causes errors in date calculation.

The formula checks if the date in A1 is between today and 7 days ago.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the formula to highlight dates older than 30 days.

Excel

=A1 [1] TODAY() - 30

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A<

B<=

C>=

D>

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '>' highlights dates newer than 30 days ago.

Using '>=' or '<=' includes the boundary date incorrectly.

To highlight dates older than 30 days, check if A1 is less than (before) today minus 30 days.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to highlight dates that are weekends.

Excel

=OR(WEEKDAY(A1) = [1], WEEKDAY(A1) = [2])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

A1

B7

C6

D5

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using '6' instead of '7' highlights Fridays instead of Saturdays.

Using only one day misses half the weekend.

In Excel, WEEKDAY returns 1 for Sunday and 7 for Saturday by default.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to highlight dates in the current month.

Excel

=AND(MONTH(A1) = [1], YEAR(A1) = [2], A1 <= [3])

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

AMONTH(TODAY())

BYEAR(TODAY())

CTODAY()

DDAY(TODAY())

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Using DAY(TODAY()) instead of MONTH(TODAY()) or YEAR(TODAY()).

Not checking the year causes wrong matches across years.

This formula checks if the date in A1 is in the same month and year as today and is not a future date.

Practice

1. What does conditional formatting with the formula =A1<TODAY() do in Excel?

easy

A. Highlights cells with dates equal to today

B. Highlights cells with dates before today

C. Highlights cells with dates after today

D. Highlights cells with empty dates

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the formula =A1<TODAY()

   This formula checks if the date in cell A1 is less than today's date.

2. Step 2: Interpret the condition

   If the date is before today, the condition is TRUE and the formatting applies.

3. Final Answer:

   Highlights cells with dates before today -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Dates < TODAY() = Highlight past dates [OK]

Hint: Less than TODAY() means dates before today [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing less than with greater than
• Thinking it highlights today's date
• Using TODAY without parentheses

2. Which of these is the correct formula to highlight cells with dates equal to today in conditional formatting?

easy

A. =A1=TODAY()

B. =A1=TODAY

C. =A1==TODAY()

D. =A1=NOW()

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify correct function syntax

   TODAY() is a function and requires parentheses to work properly.

2. Step 2: Compare options

   =A1=TODAY() uses =A1=TODAY(), which correctly compares the cell date to today's date.

3. Final Answer:

   =A1=TODAY() -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Use TODAY() with parentheses for correct date comparison [OK]

Hint: TODAY() always needs parentheses [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Omitting parentheses after TODAY
• Using double equals (==) which is invalid in Excel
• Using NOW() which includes time, not just date

3. Given the conditional formatting formula =AND(A1>=TODAY(), A1<=TODAY()+7), what dates will be highlighted?

medium

A. Dates from today up to 7 days ahead

B. Dates exactly 7 days ago

C. Dates in the past week

D. Dates after 7 days from today

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the formula conditions

   The formula checks if the date in A1 is greater than or equal to today and less than or equal to today plus 7 days.

2. Step 2: Understand the date range

   This means it highlights dates starting from today up to 7 days in the future.

3. Final Answer:

   Dates from today up to 7 days ahead -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   AND(A1≥TODAY(), A1≤TODAY()+7) = Next 7 days [OK]

Hint: Use AND to set date range between today and 7 days ahead [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking it highlights past dates
• Ignoring the AND condition
• Confusing TODAY()+7 as 7 days ago

4. You want to highlight dates older than 30 days using conditional formatting. Which formula has an error?

medium

A. =A1<TODAY()-30

B. =A1<=TODAY()-30

C. =A1<TODAY()-30()

D. =A1>TODAY()-30

Solution

1. Step 1: Check each formula's syntax

   Options A, B, and C use correct syntax with TODAY() function and arithmetic.

2. Step 2: Identify the error in =A1<TODAY()-30()

   =A1<TODAY()-30() uses TODAY()-30() which is invalid because 30() is not a function and parentheses after 30 cause error.

3. Final Answer:

   =A1<TODAY()-30() -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Numbers like 30 should not have parentheses [OK]

Hint: Numbers don't get parentheses; only functions do [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Adding parentheses after numbers
• Using greater than instead of less than for older dates
• Omitting parentheses after TODAY

5. You want to highlight all dates in column A that are weekends (Saturday or Sunday) using conditional formatting. Which formula should you use?

hard

A. =WEEKDAY(A1)=6

B. =AND(WEEKDAY(A1)=7, WEEKDAY(A1)=1)

C. =OR(WEEKDAY(A1)=6, WEEKDAY(A1)=5)

D. =OR(WEEKDAY(A1)=7, WEEKDAY(A1)=1)

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand WEEKDAY function

   WEEKDAY returns 1 for Sunday and 7 for Saturday by default.

2. Step 2: Choose correct logical test

   We want to highlight if the date is Saturday OR Sunday, so use OR with conditions WEEKDAY=7 or WEEKDAY=1.

3. Final Answer:

   =OR(WEEKDAY(A1)=7, WEEKDAY(A1)=1) -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Use OR for weekend days 1 (Sun) and 7 (Sat) [OK]

Hint: Use OR with WEEKDAY=1 or 7 for weekends [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using AND instead of OR
• Wrong weekday numbers for weekend
• Checking only one weekend day