Why rules-based formatting highlights patterns in Excel - Formula Trace Breakdown

Sample Data

Sales data for a week in column A

Cell	Value
A1	Sales
A2	100
A3	200
A4	150
A5	300
A6	250
A7	400

Formula Trace

=A2>200

Step 1: A2>200

Step 2: 100>200

Cell Reference Map

    A   
1 |Sales|
2 |100  |
3 |200  |
4 |150  |
5 |300  |
6 |250  |
7 |400  |

The rule checks each cell in A2:A7 to see if the value is greater than 200

Result

    A       
1 |Sales   |
2 |100     |
3 |200     |
4 |150     |
5 |300 *   |
6 |250 *   |
7 |400 *   |

Cells A5, A6, and A7 are highlighted because their values are greater than 200

Sheet Trace Quiz - 3 Questions

What does the rule '=A2>200' check for each cell?

A If the cell value is less than 200

B If the cell value is greater than 200

C If the cell value equals 200

D If the cell value is empty

Key Result

Rules-based formatting uses logical conditions to highlight cells that meet specific criteria.