{"id":311963,"date":"2021-07-29T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-to-use-icon-sets-to-represent-values-in-microsoft-excel\/"},"modified":"2021-07-29T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T15:00:00","slug":"how-to-use-icon-sets-to-represent-values-in-microsoft-excel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-use-icon-sets-to-represent-values-in-microsoft-excel\/","title":{"rendered":"#How to Use Icon Sets to Represent Values in Microsoft Excel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dfb3a096b5\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3dfb3a096b5\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-use-icon-sets-to-represent-values-in-microsoft-excel\/#Apply_a_Quick_Conditional_Formatting_Icon_Set\" >Apply a Quick Conditional Formatting Icon Set<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-use-icon-sets-to-represent-values-in-microsoft-excel\/#Create_a_Custom_Conditional_Formatting_Icon_Set\" >Create a Custom Conditional Formatting Icon Set<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#How to Use Icon Sets to Represent Values in Microsoft Excel&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage alignnone size-full wp-image-731027\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MS-excel-logo-675.png?width=398&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 400w, https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MS-excel-logo-675.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, 400w, 1200w\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MS-excel-logo-675.png?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Microsoft Excel Logo\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking for a unique way to represent your data in Microsoft Excel, consider using icon sets. Similar to color scales, icon sets take a range of values and use visual effects to symbolize those values.<\/p>\n<p>With a conditional formatting rule, you can display icons like traffic lights, stars, or arrows based on the values that you enter. For example, you can show an empty star for a value of 10, a partially filled star for 30, and a completed filled star for 50.<\/p>\n<p>This feature is great for things like using a rating system, showing completed tasks, representing sales, or displaying a flux in finances.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Apply_a_Quick_Conditional_Formatting_Icon_Set\"><\/span>Apply a Quick Conditional Formatting Icon Set<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Like other conditional formatting rules in Excel, such as highlighting top- or bottom-ranked values, you have some quick options to choose from. These include basic icon sets using three, four, or five categories with a range of preset values.<\/p>\n<p>Select the cells that you want to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ly the formatting to by clicking the first cell and dragging your cursor through the rest.<\/p>\n<p>Then, open the Home tab and go to the Styles section of the ribbon. Click \u201cConditional Formatting,\u201d and move your cursor to \u201cIcon Sets.\u201d You\u2019ll see those quick options listed.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736343\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ConditionalFormattingIconSets-Excel.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"316\" height=\"500\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>As you hover your cursor over the various Icon Sets, you can see them previewed in your spreadsheet. This is a nifty way to see which set of icons works best for you.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736342\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ConditionalFormattingPreviewIconSets-Excel.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"448\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>If you spot one that you want to use, simply click it. This applies the conditional formatting rule to your selected cells with the icon set that you chose. As you can see in the screenshot below, we selected the stars from our initial example.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736344\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/SimpleStarIconSets-Excel.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"305\" height=\"195\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Create_a_Custom_Conditional_Formatting_Icon_Set\"><\/span>Create a Custom Conditional Formatting Icon Set<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As previously mentioned, these Icon Set options from the pop-out menu have preset values attached. So, if you need to adjust the ranges to match the data in your sheet, you can create a custom conditional formatting rule. And it\u2019s easier than you might think!<\/p>\n<p>Select the cells where you want to apply the icons, go to the Home tab, and choose \u201cNew Rule\u201d from the Conditional Formatting drop-down list.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736345\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/ConditionalFormattingNewRuleIconSets-Excel.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"On the Home tab, click Conditional Formatting, New Rule\" width=\"265\" height=\"460\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>When the New Formatting Rule window opens, select \u201cFormat All Cells Based on Their Values\u201d at the top.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736348\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/FormatBasedValuesIconSets-Excel.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Pick Format All Cells Based on Their Values\" width=\"642\" height=\"507\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>At the bottom of the window, click the Format Style drop-down list and pick \u201cIcon Sets.\u201d You\u2019ll then customize the details for the rule.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736347\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/FormatBasedValuesChooseIconSets-Excel.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"642\" height=\"507\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Choose the Icon Style in the next drop-down list. Again, you can pick from three, four, or five categories. If you prefer the icons in the opposite arrangement, click \u201cReverse Icon Order.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/FormatBasedValuesSelectIconSet-Excel.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"642\" height=\"571\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A handy feature of the Icon Sets custom rule is that you aren\u2019t stuck with the exact set of icons that you select. Below that Icon Style drop-down box, you\u2019ll see boxes for the icons in the group. This allows you to customize the exact icons for your rule. So if you, for example, want to use a star, flag, and arrow instead of three stars, go for it!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736350\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/CustomIconSet-Excel.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"642\" height=\"571\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The final part to setting up your rule is entering the values for the range. Choose \u201cGreater Than\u201d (&gt;) or \u201cGreater Than or Equal to\u201d (&gt;=) in the first drop-down box. Enter your value in the next box and choose whether it\u2019s a number, percent, formula, or percentile. This gives you great flexibility to set up your rule.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736351\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/FormatBasedValuesIconSetValues-Excel.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"Add the values and type of values\" width=\"642\" height=\"571\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Now, click \u201cOK\u201d to apply your rule.<\/p>\n<p>One more handy feature worth mentioning is that you can display the icon only. By default, Excel shows both the icon and the value that you enter. But there might be cases where you plan to rely solely on the icon. In that case, check the box for \u201cShow Icon Only.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a terrific example of using Icon Sets where you only want to show the icon.<\/p>\n<p>We want to display green, yellow, and red traffic light icons to indicate whether our order is new, in progress, or complete. To do so, we\u2019ll simply enter the numbers one, two, or three. As you can see, the values aren\u2019t important in this scenario. They\u2019re only used to trigger the icon, which is what we want to see.<\/p>\n<p>So, we do the following:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Select our three-category traffic light icons.<\/li>\n<li>Reverse the order (because we want the largest number represented by red).<\/li>\n<li>Enter our values \u201c3\u201d and \u201c2\u201d as \u201cNumbers.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Check the box to show the icon only.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736353\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/SampleIconSetRule-Excel.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"394\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Now, all we have to do in our sheet is type \u201c1\u201d for new orders, \u201c2\u201d for those in progress, and \u201c3\u201d for complete orders. When we hit Enter, all we see is our green, yellow, and red traffic light indicators.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-736352\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/SampleIconSetRuleDisplay-Excel.png?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"200\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Hopefully, this how-to for using Icon Sets in Microsoft Excel prompts you to take advantage of this wonderful feature. And for another way to use conditional formatting, take a look at how to create progress bars in Excel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/736339\/how-to-use-icon-sets-to-represent-values-in-microsoft-excel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#How to Use Icon Sets to Represent Values in Microsoft Excel&#8221; If you\u2019re looking for a unique way to represent your data in Microsoft Excel, consider using icon sets. Similar to color scales, icon sets take a range of values and use visual effects to symbolize those values. With a conditional formatting rule, you can&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":311964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/MS-excel-logo-675.png?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-311963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}