Conditional Formatting

Overview

The most important reason for creating a Conditional Format is to assist an end user to interpret the data presented to them. The example below illustrates how Conditional Formats can help the user. The average salary column has had red and green Conditional Formats applied to it. This makes it easy for the user to quickly interpret the report and act on the information provided.

It is recommended that Conditional Formats are used whenever the reader of a report needs to be drawn to act or interpret data based on a pre-determined set of rules.

General Settings

 Display

Option	Description
Alert Legend	Display a conditional format rules legend with the report.
Legend Title	Provide a title for the conditional format rules legend.
Legend Description	Provide a description for the conditional format rules legend.

Field Settings - Basic Rules

Basic rules allow you to set the format of a column using comparisons to either its own values or another field’s values. This is the most common forms of Conditional Format that is applied.

 Setup

Option	Description
Alert Type	Select the complexity of the alert rules. Basic: these alerts are based on comparison of the column value to a set value or another column. Advanced: these alerts can be based on multiple conditions, set up using logic similar to that of Filter Settings.
Style	Select a display method for the alert. There are four options available: Bar: the value in a matching cell will be displayed as an inline bar. Cell: the background colour in a matching cell will be highlighted. Icon: the text in a matching cell will replaced with an icon. Text: the text in a matching cell will be highlighted.
Icon Set	If the Style is set to Icon then select the set of icons to apply to the alert. Traffic Lights Arrows Up Arrows Down Ticks Shapes
Type	Select the comparison type from the following options: Value: compares data to set values eg. Greater than 10. Compare Column: compares data to set values stored in another column. E.g. Compare the received amount with amount invoiced to highlight those that are not equal. Percentage of Column: compares the value to a percentage threshold of a comparison column. Use this to highlight revenue that is 10% less than ‘planned revenue’. Percentage of Total: compares the value to a percentage of the total of the column. Use this to highlight values that represent less than 5% of revenue. Percentage of Max: compares the value to a percentage of the maximum value. Use this to highlight values relative to the maximum value eg. values that are in the lowest 20% bracket of results
Target	If you select a column comparison type you will have to choose the column that you want to compare your data to. Choose the appropriate column.

 Alerts

Once you have selected how you want to highlight your data you must set the alert rule. The rule input section will differ based on earlier selections however, generally you will need to choose the colour the operator (greater than etc) and input the values.

Option	Description
Colour/Icon	Define the colour or icon to be used for each rule.
Operator	Define the operator to be used for each rule.
Value	Define the value to be used (if required) for each rule.

Field Settings - Advanced Rules

Advanced rules allow you to create complex rules for determining the format of the column. For example if you wanted to create a rule such as: If Region = Europe and Revenue > $200,000 then highlight Profitability as RED.

 Setup

Option	Description
Alert Type	Select the complexity of the alert rules. Basic: these alerts are based on comparison of the column value to a set value or another column. Advanced: these alerts can be based on multiple conditions, set up using logic similar to that of Filter Settings.

 Alerts

Option	Description
Alert Details	Provide a description for this rule.
Style	Select a display method for the alert. There are four options available: Bar: the value in a matching cell will be displayed as an inline bar. Cell: the background colour in a matching cell will be highlighted. Icon: the text in a matching cell will replaced with an icon. Text: the text in a matching cell will be highlighted.
Icon Set	If the Style is set to Icon then select the set of icons to apply to the alert. Traffic Lights Arrows Up Arrows Down Ticks Shapes
Colour	This option requires you to define either the colour, or the icon from a set, to be applied to the rule.
Rules	Enter the logic of your rule. You can select a column the operator and the value. By clicking add you can add additional rules with bracketing etc. See Filter Settings for more information.

Conditional Format Data Validation

When inserting values into the Conditional Format type a number of rules need to be followed. These include:

Value Overlaps

If you are creating a number of Conditional Formats, as in the example above, care will have to be taken to ensure that the Conditional Format values do not overlap. For instance you cannot set one record that is 50 to 60 and another 55 to 65. This will cause a clash in processing and may result in your report failing.

Value Sequence

When creating a range of values – such as for a BETWEEN operator the lower end variable must be inserted as the first value of the Conditional Format followed by the higher. Example – 30 then 40 not 40 then 30. If this is not followed you report Conditional Format will fail since no data will meet the criteria.

Value Applicability

You do not have to create a Conditional Format for every possible value that will be returned. If there is a measure that does not meet a Conditional Format criterion it will be returned in a normal font. Conditional Formats should only be put on values that you want to draw attention to.