There might be a better way, but try three conditional format rules on C1 in this order:

  1. "Custom formula is"; Value: =IF(A1="Done",TRUE,FALSE): set background to White

  2. "Date is after"; "exact date..."; Value: =NOW()+3: set background to Green

  3. "Cell is not empty": set background to Red. This is the default if the cell is not "Done" and the date is not after three days from now.

You could also keep rule 1, and then have rule 2 being a Colour Scale. You might need to put an extra cell to convert NOW() into a day count, though: =NOW()-3 for example.

Answer from gid on Stack Exchange
Top answer
1 of 2
4

There might be a better way, but try three conditional format rules on C1 in this order:

  1. "Custom formula is"; Value: =IF(A1="Done",TRUE,FALSE): set background to White

  2. "Date is after"; "exact date..."; Value: =NOW()+3: set background to Green

  3. "Cell is not empty": set background to Red. This is the default if the cell is not "Done" and the date is not after three days from now.

You could also keep rule 1, and then have rule 2 being a Colour Scale. You might need to put an extra cell to convert NOW() into a day count, though: =NOW()-3 for example.

2 of 2
1

One way to do it would be with a custom formula conditional format rule per colour. Instructions for adding a custom rule to conditional formula are available here. To summarize:

  1. Open a spreadsheet.
  2. Select the cell or range of cells that you want to apply formatting rules to.
  3. Click the Format menu.
  4. Select Conditional formatting.
  5. Under the “Condition” drop-down menu, choose Custom formula is.
  6. Add in the relevant formula and rules.
  7. Click Done.

You need to add the most restrictive rule first. Rules will be evaluated in order, so the first one that matches will determine the format to be applied. In your example, this means that you would need to add the red rule first followed by the green one.

In the example you gave, the range ("Apply to range" field) for all formulas would be C:C

The custom formula for the red rule would be:
=IF(EQ(A1, "Open"), IF(C1 <= TODAY() + 7, true, false), false).
This would apply the format to all dates which are within 7 days of today.

If you wanted to add an intermediate orange rule for dates within 28 days for example, the formula would be:
=IF(EQ(A1, "Open"), if(C1 <= TODAY() + 28, true, false), false).

The final green rule formula would be:
=IF(EQ(A1, "Open"), if(C1 > TODAY() + 28, true, false), false).

You may be able to simplify the number of rules or complexity of the formulae, but the above should work.

🌐
Google Support
support.google.com › docs › answer › 78413
Use conditional formatting rules in Google Sheets - Computer - Google Docs Editors Help
On your computer, open a spreadsheet in Google Sheets. Select the test scores. Click Format Conditional formatting. Under "Format cells if," click Less than. If there's already a rule, click it or Add new rule Less than. Click Value or formula and enter 0.8.
🌐
Ablebits
ablebits.com › ablebits blog › google sheets tips › complete guide to google sheets conditional formatting: rules, formulas, use cases
Complete guide to Google Sheets conditional formatting: rules, formulas, use cases
November 5, 2024 - Custom formulas let you build your ... condition. The result of the formula should be either TRUE or FALSE — if TRUE, the formatting will be applied....
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/googlesheets › conditional formatting, if statements
r/googlesheets on Reddit: Conditional Formatting, if statements
May 14, 2023 -

I keep track of morning stock, daily production and resulting EoD stock figures

I would like conditional formatting to highlight cells where the morning stock is over 10% of the previous days EoD stock, my current conditional formatting formula is =if((B2/D1)>=0.1,TRUE,FALSE).

Where column B is morning stock, Column C is production and column D is EoD stock.

It appears to be highlighting lots of cells but not following the formula logic, there's cells not highlighted that definitely fit the formula TRUE conditons (for example in E38 (2) and G37 (13), 2/13=0.153)

🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/googlesheets › conditional formatting formulas
r/googlesheets on Reddit: Conditional formatting formulas
November 11, 2023 -

I want to use conditional formatting to take the cell column value and check another cell in that column and perform some basic arithmetic on it to determine the color of the cell, but I want to do this dynamically so I don't need to create a separate version for every column in the array. I know about INDIRECT("string") and COL functions but those don't seem to do it because I need a term that just reads in the formula as "this cell value".

Edit: In the example below I want a pair of conditional formatting rules for the rows "things 1-4" to be green if the referent/cell value is greater than 0.5 and red if it's less.

🌐
Google Support
support.google.com › docs › thread › 25539997 › conditional-formatting-if-statement-with-multiple-criteria
Conditional Formatting If statement with multiple criteria - Google Docs Editors Community
January 13, 2020 - Skip to main content · Google Docs Editors Help · Sign in · Google Help · Help Center · Community · Google Docs Editors · Terms of Service · Submit feedback · Send feedback on
🌐
Zapier
zapier.com › productivity › app tutorials
How to use conditional formatting in Google Sheets | Zapier
June 23, 2024 - Select column E, and click Format > Conditional formatting. Under Format cells if, select Greater than or equal to. In the Value or formula field, enter 20%. Tip: Google Sheets recognizes any type of number—from percentiles to currencies.
🌐
The Bricks
thebricks.com › home › resources › how to use if function in conditional formatting in google sheets
How to Use IF Function in Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets
February 20, 2025 - Always lock the columns with a dollar sign ($C2) when you intend to apply formatting based on a specific column's value to an entire row. Applying to the Wrong Range: Double-check that your formula's starting row (`2` in $C2) matches the first row of your selected range (`A2:E6`). If your range started at `A3` but your formula used `$C2`, the logic would be offset by a row. Forgetting the First = Sign: Every formula in Google Sheets must start with an equals sign. If you forget it, Conditional formatting won't recognize it as a formula.
Find elsewhere
🌐
Spreadsheet Point
spreadsheetpoint.com › home › google sheets tips › conditional formatting in google sheets: full guide
Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets: Full Guide
Open the “Conditional Format Rules” Google Sheets menu. In the “Format rules” section, select the “Custom Formula is” option under “Format cells if.” This will display a textbox where you can add your custom formula.
Published: January 27, 2025
🌐
Coupler.io Blog
blog.coupler.io › home › conditional formatting in google sheets | the ultimate guide with examples
Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets Guide| Coupler.io Blog
February 11, 2026 - As for the second step, you have two options here: Option 1: Select a range (cells, columns, or rows) and then click Format > Conditional formatting. This will pop up a conditional formatting toolbar on the right side of your screen.
🌐
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › how-to-use-conditional-formatting-in-google-sheets
How to Use Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets - GeeksforGeeks
June 20, 2024 - Enter Formula, and define the "= ISBLANK (C1)" and "=NOT(ISBLANK(C1)" formulas. ... Set Formatting style in google sheet. To apply the changes, press the done button. Select the Range of the cell in Google Sheets. Go to the format menu and select conditional formatting ...
🌐
Coursera
coursera.org › coursera articles › data › data analytics › how to use conditional formatting in google sheets
How to Use Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets | Coursera
January 13, 2026 - Here's a quick summary of the steps you'll take to apply conditional formatting in Google Sheets: Select the range you want to format. Go to Format in the top menu. Select Conditional formatting.
🌐
Layer
golayer.io › home › how to use conditional formatting in google sheets?
Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets (Complete Guide) | Layer Blog
July 17, 2024 - From the dropdown menu under “Format cells if”, choose the condition that you need to trigger the rule. For example, if I want to highlight all of the total sales data below $5,000, I will select the “Less than” option.
🌐
Stack Overflow
stackoverflow.com › questions › 77466575 › conditional-formatting-in-google-sheets-with-formula-to-differentiate-similar-da
Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets with formula to differentiate similar data - Stack Overflow
You will need a single formula but one conditional formatting rule for each unique color (not necessarily each unique name as you can choose to double-up or triple-up etc. Will start to get hard to tell colors apart anyway as the number of colors grows. There are two approaches below based on where the helper column is located: The Helper Column is located in the same sheet as the names to be checked · The Helper Column and the names to be checked are in different sheets. If you create the helper column in the same sheet as the values to color, it is simpler and the rule avoids using INDIRECT.
🌐
TCEA TechNotes
blog.tcea.org › home › google tips and tricks › google sheets tip: conditional formatting custom formulas
Google Sheets Tip: Conditional Formatting Custom Formulas – TCEA TechNotes Blog
November 2, 2022 - In this case, you can use a variety of format rules. These format rules say, “Format cells if…” certain conditions are met. Here is the list of most conditions you can apply: I often use these when getting data from a Google Form, and I want to see how YES or NO responses look.
🌐
Quora
quora.com › How-do-you-handle-Google-Sheets-formula-if-or-sum-with-conditional-formatting-Google-Sheets-formulas-web-apps
How to handle Google Sheets formula if or sum with conditional formatting (Google Sheets, formulas, web apps) - Quora
Answer: Here is an example of how to use formula for conditional formatting. I have a column which has dates. I wish the dates which are older than 10 days from Today to be marked with different colour. You need to go to Format - Conditional Format and then select option Custom Formula is. Shown ...
🌐
Coefficient
coefficient.io › home
A Complete Guide to Conditional Formatting in Google Sheets
September 2, 2025 - ... Conditional formatting is most powerful when it is determined by a custom formula. To set a custom formula, launch Conditional format rules the same way as always, by clicking Format > Conditional formatting. Under Format cells if...
🌐
Google Support
support.google.com › docs › thread › 317529901 › google-sheets-if-function-and-conditional-formatting
Google Sheets: IF function and conditional formatting - Google Docs Editors Community
January 8, 2025 - Skip to main content · Google Docs Editors Help · Sign in · Google Help · Help Center · Community · Google Docs Editors · Terms of Service · Submit feedback · Send feedback on
🌐
Google
developers.google.com › google workspace › google sheets › conditional formatting
Conditional formatting | Google Sheets | Google for Developers
July 22, 2026 - function conditionalFormatting(spreadsheetId, callback) { const myRange = { sheetId: 0, startRowIndex: 1, endRowIndex: 11, startColumnIndex: 0, endColumnIndex: 4, }; const requests = [{ addConditionalFormatRule: { rule: { ranges: [myRange], booleanRule: { condition: { type: 'CUSTOM_FORMULA', values: [{userEnteredValue: '=GT($D2,median($D$2:$D$11))'}], }, format: { textFormat: {foregroundColor: {red: 0.8}}, }, }, }, index: 0, }, }, { addConditionalFormatRule: { rule: { ranges: [myRange], booleanRule: { condition: { type: 'CUSTOM_FORMULA', values: [{userEnteredValue: '=LT($D2,median($D$2:$D$11))
🌐
Damson Cloud
damsoncloud.com › resources › blog › google-sheets-hacks-conditional-formatting-uses
Google Sheets Hacks: Creative Conditional Formatting | Damson Cloud
June 19, 2025 - He does this by adding an ‘IF’ formula, this formula will test if the week number for the date in column c matches the week number that corresponds with today's date. If there is a match it will return a true statement in the cell. Once added Sheets offers an autofill to add the function in the cells below. We can now see a result for each task. Now he needs to apply the conditional format rule to highlight the row.