Conditional Format cells based on date in another cell

Hi - I am new to the community and have searched the discussions on conditional format but couldn't find what I am looking for. I have a sheet that will have approx 20 cols containing scheduled and actual dates for various activities. I would like to conditionally format the actual date field to set it red if it is greater than the scheduled date. I know I can set up a status field and use formula to compare, but as I have in excess of 10 sets of dates to compare, I would like to do this directly in the date field using conditional formatting. Has anyone been able to do this? Many thanks, Dawn

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Paul Newcome

You would not be able to make the comparison through Conditional Formatting. You would need to use a helper column to make the comparison and then build your conditional formatting off of that.

Feel free to Submit a Product Enhancement Request though as it is definitely a good idea for a useful feature.

DawnS

Thank you for confirming Paul - it was what I thought but was worth just checking. I will submit an enhancement as suggested.

Paul Newcome

Happy to help!

Cheryl Aker

I've seen several references to "helper columns" but when I search for that in SmartSheet help, I can't find what a "helper column" is or how to set one up.

Andrée Starå

Hi @Cheryl Aker

A helper column is what we call a column that is only helping to do something specific possible.

Make sense?

I hope that helps!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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