I’m trying to set up conditional formatting for a named range in my Google Sheets document but I’m running into issues.
When I go to the conditional formatting menu and try to type the name of my range in the field where you specify which cells the rule should apply to, it doesn’t seem to accept what I’m entering. The system just won’t recognize the named range.
I also tried using the INDIRECT function to reference the named range but that approach failed as well.
Is there a way to make conditional formatting work with named ranges? What’s the proper method to accomplish this? I feel like I’m missing something obvious here but I can’t figure out the right approach.
yep! just go to format > conditional formatting and type ur named range in the box (no quotes). if it still dont work, try selecting the cells first then apply the rule. sheets can be a bit weird with this stuff sometimes.
Named ranges should work fine in conditional formatting, but there’s a gotcha that might be your issue. When you type the named range in “Apply to range,” don’t include extra spaces or characters. It has to match exactly how you defined it. I’ve also seen problems when the named range spans multiple sheets - the reference gets confused. When that happens, I just select the actual cells manually instead. Quick workaround: select the cells that match your named range first, then apply conditional formatting. Skips the whole named range recognition issue but gets you the same result.
I’ve encountered similar issues frequently with Google Sheets. You need to ensure the named range is entered exactly as defined, without additional spaces or quotes. Sometimes, refreshing the sheet or restarting it helps to recognize the named range. If problems persist, I recommend selecting the specific cells manually before applying conditional formatting to avoid recognition issues. Additionally, be mindful that named ranges with special characters or created via the API can often cause unexpected behavior in conditional formatting.