How to highlight duplicates in multiple columns

Answer

To highlight duplicates in multiple columns in Excel, follow these steps:

Step 1: Select the Data Range

1. Click and drag to select all the columns where you want to check for duplicates.

2. Ensure that you select the entire data, including all rows and columns you want to compare.

Step 2: Open Conditional Formatting

1. Go to the Home tab on the Ribbon.

2. Click Conditional Formatting in the Styles group.

3. Hover over Highlight Cells Rules and select Duplicate Values.

Step 3: Configure Duplicate Highlighting

1. In the Duplicate Values dialog box, choose Duplicate in the first dropdown.

2. Select a formatting style (like light red fill with dark red text) from the second dropdown.

3. Click OK.

Step 4: Confirm Highlighting

• Excel will now highlight all duplicate values across the selected columns.

• The highlighting updates automatically when new duplicates are added to the selected range.

Notes:

1. This method highlights duplicates within the selected range, meaning Excel checks duplicates across the columns selected, not just within each column.

2. For duplicates across non-adjacent columns:

   • Hold Ctrl and select each column individually before applying Conditional Formatting.

3. To remove duplicate highlighting:

   • Go to Conditional Formatting → Clear Rules → Clear Rules from Selected Cells.

Optional: Use a Formula for Complex Cases

For more advanced highlighting (for example, only highlight duplicates if they appear in all columns), use a formula:

1. Select the entire data range.

2. Go to Conditional Formatting → New Rule → Use a formula to determine which cells to format.

3. Enter the formula: 

   =COUNTIF($A$1:$C$100, A1)>1

• Replace $A$1:$C$100 with your selected range.

4. Click Format, choose a highlight style, then click OK.

This formula highlights any value that appears more than once across the selected columns.

You can apply these steps to datasets of any size, and Excel will highlight duplicates dynamically as data changes.

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