How to create a custom conditional formatting rule in Google Sheets based on specific text?

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1

Hey everyone,

I’m stuck on setting up a conditional formatting rule in my Google Sheets. What I want to do is pretty simple, but I can’t figure out the right formula.

Here’s what I’m trying to do:

  • If cell C58 has the exact phrase ‘long cont’ in it
  • Then I want cell D58 to turn green

I’ve tried a few things, but nothing seems to work. Can anyone help me out with the correct syntax for this?

Really appreciate any help you can give. Thanks in advance!

PS: If you know any other cool conditional formatting tricks, I’d love to hear them too!

2

hey dancingfox, try this formula in conditional formatting: =EXACT(C58,“long cont”). select D58, go to Format > Conditional formatting, choose “Custom formula is” and paste that in. should turn D58 green when C58 matches exactly. hope this helps! lemme know if u need anything else

3

For your specific need, you can use this formula in conditional formatting:

=SEARCH(“long cont”, C58) > 0

This will turn D58 green when C58 contains ‘long cont’, regardless of case or surrounding text.

To set it up:

  1. Select D58
  2. Go to Format > Conditional formatting
  3. Choose ‘Custom formula is’
  4. Enter the formula above

A useful trick: You can apply this to multiple cells by selecting a range (like D58:D100) instead of just D58. This way, each cell in column D will turn green if its corresponding cell in column C contains ‘long cont’.

Remember, Google Sheets’ conditional formatting is quite powerful. You can combine multiple conditions using AND() or OR() functions for more complex rules.

4

I’ve encountered similar issues before, and here’s what worked for me:

Go to Format > Conditional formatting. Choose ‘Custom formula is’ and use this formula:

=REGEXMATCH(C58, “long cont”)

This will turn D58 green when C58 contains ‘long cont’, even if there’s other text in the cell.

A bonus tip: You can use REGEXMATCH for partial matches too. For instance, =REGEXMATCH(C58, “cont”) would highlight if ‘cont’ appears anywhere in C58.

Hope this helps! Let us know if you need any clarification.