How to Highlight Entire Rows Based on Today's Date in Excel
Question details
The user wants to highlight entire rows in a spreadsheet if a specific date column contains today's date or an earlier date, without affecting rows with blank date cells.
- Product
- Excel
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Tracking tasks or deadlines where overdue or due-today items need to stand out visually in a large dataset.
- Observed behavior
- Needs a custom formula-based conditional formatting rule applied to the data range that checks the date column against the TODAY() function and ignores blank values.
Ensure your target date column contains valid Excel date values rather than text strings, and make a note of the exact range of your dataset (e.g., A2:N100).
Use a Formula-Based Conditional Formatting Rule
Use the AND and TODAY functions in a custom formatting rule to highlight rows based on dates in a specific column.
By using a formula like =AND($N2<>"",$N2<=TODAY()), Excel checks two conditions: first, that the cell in column N is not blank, and second, that the date is less than or equal to today's date. The dollar sign ($) locks the column reference so that the entire row gets highlighted based exclusively on that single column's value.
Click and drag to select your entire data range (e.g., A2:N100). Make sure to start your selection from the first row of actual data, excluding the header row.
Go to the Home tab on the Excel ribbon, click on Conditional Formatting, and select New Rule from the dropdown menu.
Choose the option 'Use a formula to determine which cells to format'. In the formula box, enter =AND($N2<>"",$N2<=TODAY()), adjusting the column letter (N) and the starting row number (2) to match the upper-left cell of your selected data.
Click the Format button, navigate to the Fill tab to choose your preferred highlight color, and click OK twice to apply the new rule to your spreadsheet.
Easily Apply Conditional Formatting with WPS Spreadsheet
WPS Spreadsheet offers identical conditional formatting capabilities as Excel. You can quickly set up date-based row highlighting to manage your deadlines effectively without changing your workflow.
- 1. Select the data range in WPS: Highlight all the cells you want to format in your WPS Spreadsheet, starting from your first data row.
- 2. Access Conditional Formatting: Navigate to the Home tab on the top menu, click on Conditional Formatting, and choose New Rule.
- 3. Input the TODAY function formula: Select 'Use a formula to determine which cells to format' and type =AND($N2<>"",$N2<=TODAY()).
- 4. Set the format and apply: Click Format to pick a background color, then click OK to highlight your due and overdue rows automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my conditional formatting highlighting the wrong rows?
This usually happens if the row number in your formula (e.g., $N2) doesn't match the top row of your selected data range. For example, if you selected the range A4:Z100, your formula must start with row 4 (i.e., =AND($N4<>"",$N4<=TODAY())).
How do I highlight rows only if the date is exactly today?
To highlight tasks due exactly today, change your formatting formula to =$N2=TODAY() in the conditional formatting rule menu. Ensure the column is locked with the dollar sign ($) so the entire row is formatted properly.
Will this formatting formula update automatically tomorrow?
Yes, the TODAY() function is completely dynamic. Whenever you open the spreadsheet or trigger a calculation, the formatting will instantly update to reflect your computer's current system date.
How do I highlight rows for future dates instead of past ones?
To highlight upcoming dates, simply modify the operator in your formula to "greater than". For example, use the formula =AND($N2<>"",$N2>TODAY()) to apply formatting to rows where the deadline is in the future.
