Microsoft Excel 2013 introduces a new feature that lets you differentiate data at a glance: Conditional formatting. This handy tool will apply colors to a cell's font and background depending on the conditions you've set -- if you want to highlight any cell that features a specific name or date, for instance, or differentiate high, medium and low numerical values. Follow these directions to set up your own conditional formatting in a few simple steps.
1. Select the cells you want to format.
2. Click "Conditional Formatting" on the Ribbon.
3. Hover over "Highlight Cells Rules" in the drop-down menu.
4. Click on "Text that Contains" in the drop-down menu.
5. Select the text you want formatted in the "Text that Contains" popup window.
6. Choose the format in the "Text that Contains" popup window.
