How to Create Conditional Formats in Excel 2007

1. Open an existing Microsoft Excel document in which to create these conditional formats. Double click on the 'My computer' option on the main operating system desktop. Choose the location of the Excel file and double click on the file icon to open the document.
2. Ascertain which cells or worksheet the conditional formatting will apply to. Prior to opening the conditional formatting manager, choose particular cells, the entire worksheet or workbook to apply the conditional format.
3. Choose the 'Conditional Formatting' button from the home menu ribbon. Then select the 'Manage Rules' option from the conditional formatting menu.
4. Click on the 'New Rule' button from the conditional formatting rules manager dialogue box.
5. Select the type of rule to create. There are six types of rules that a user can create, in this case the 'Format All Cells Based on Their Values' type will be utilized.
6. Determine the scheme and value basis for the condition format rule. For instance, a user can make the color of each cell vary based on the number in the cell. The highest number gets a certain color while the lowest gets another color. All the numbers in between will be assigned a variation on color scheme based on the value relative to the highest and lowest number in the spreadsheet.
7. Apply the format style to the conditional format. There are four options to choose from. In this case, a '2-Color Scale' was used.
8. Save the rule and the spreadsheet once the conditional formatting rule is complete.