If you can decide what to have for lunch, you already understand Excel's IF logic--you just need to understand the format.

Excel will then place a dotted line around the selected cell or cells to let you know that something has been copied (in this case, the formatting), and your cursor will change to a paintbrush icon.

This is where the number-crunching fun starts. Learn the ins and outs of the logical formulas that represent the heart of Excel.

For instance, to cause Excel to highlight any cell that contains the word "profit," press "Ctrl-A" to select all cells and follow the steps described to navigate to the "Format Cells" text box.

By smartly using cell borders, shading, data validation, and other formatting techniques, you can improve the visual appeal of your Excel spreadsheet.

Conditional formatting highlights key information in a spreadsheet so it’s easy to see at a glance. This beginner’s guide gets you started using conditional formatting.

When you think VBA code is your only hope, try combing built-it conditional formatting tools. You might just find an easier solution than writing code.

When you need to format text in multiple ways in a single cell in Microsoft Excel, then this guide shows you how to do it the easy way.

However, if you paste a differently formatted date, Excel accepts the source formatting. To further complicate the situation, Excel changes the format of the target cell to that of the pasted value!