Format Excel MET and NOT MET IF Results with Conditional Formatting
Question details
Apply color formatting to cells that display MET or NOT MET as the result of an IF formula.
- Product
- Microsoft Excel
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- The user wants status results from an IF formula to be visually identified with green for MET and red for NOT MET.
- Observed behavior
- Cells return the text values MET or NOT MET and need matching fill colors.
Confirm that the formula cells return the exact text MET or NOT MET, without extra spaces. Select the full result range before creating rules if the same formatting should apply to multiple rows.
Create conditional formatting rules for MET and NOT MET
Use two Cell Value rules when the formula result is displayed directly as MET or NOT MET text.
Conditional formatting does not change the IF formula. It only applies a fill color when the formula result matches the specified text.
Select the cell containing the IF result, such as A5, or select the full results range beginning with A5.
Go to Home > Conditional Formatting > New Rule, select Format only cells that contain, keep the first list set to Cell Value, choose equal to, and enter ="MET". Select Format > Fill, choose a green fill, and click OK.
Go to Home > Conditional Formatting > New Rule again. Choose Format only cells that contain, set Cell Value to equal to, enter ="NOT MET", then choose Format > Fill and select a red fill.
Open Home > Conditional Formatting > Manage Rules and verify that the Applies to range includes every cell that can return MET or NOT MET.
Highlight MET and NOT MET Formula Results in WPS Spreadsheets
WPS Spreadsheets lets you create conditional formatting rules for text returned by IF formulas. Add separate rules for MET and NOT MET, then apply green and red fills to make performance or completion statuses easy to review.
- 1. Open the worksheet in WPS Spreadsheets: Open the workbook and select the cell or range that displays the IF formula result.
- 2. Open Conditional Formatting: On the Home tab, click Conditional Formatting and choose New Rule.
- 3. Set the MET format: Choose a rule for cells equal to MET, then set a green fill color in the Format options.
- 4. Set the NOT MET format: Create a second rule for cells equal to NOT MET, then set a red fill color.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my MET cell not turning green?
Check that the conditional formatting rule uses the exact value ="MET" and that the cell does not contain extra spaces. Also open Home > Conditional Formatting > Manage Rules to confirm the Applies to range includes the cell.
Can I apply the same MET and NOT MET rules to an entire column?
Yes. Select the result range or column first, then create the two rules. In Manage Rules, set Applies to to the required range, such as =$A$5:$A$100.
Do I need to change my IF formula to use conditional formatting?
No. Keep the IF formula that returns MET or NOT MET. Conditional formatting evaluates the displayed result and applies the selected fill color automatically.
Should I use Cell Value or a formula-based conditional formatting rule?
Use Format only cells that contain with Cell Value equal to for direct MET and NOT MET results. A formula-based rule is more useful when the formatting depends on another cell or more complex conditions.
