How to Copy Conditional Formatting to Another Workbook in Excel

Conditional Formatting is one of the most used Excel tools. Conditional Formatting allows us to format cells according to our criteria. In this article, we will see several ways to Excel Copy Conditional Formatting to Another Workbook. We have a sample dataset containing Name, Gender, Occupation, and Salary.

In our sample data Gender and Salary columns are conditional formatted. Here, Females are highlighted and Salary above $30000 is highlighted. We will see how to copy this formatting to another workbook, where we have another dataset That looks like the following image.

We will see 3 easy methods to copy this Conditional Formatting in another workbook.

1. Using Format Painter to Copy Conditional Formatting to Another Excel Workbook

Here, we will see the use of Format Painter.

Steps:

• First, select the entire data set or the specific column or rows or cells where lies the formatting that you want to copy. Then, click the Format Painter.

• After that, go to the Workbook where you want to apply this Conditional Formatting, and all you need to do is drag down to select a range. The formation will be copied.

• Now, our dataset will look like the following image.

As you can see, the formatting is exactly what we wanted.

Read More: How to Copy Conditional Formatting to Another Sheet (2 Quick Methods)

2. Copying Conditional Formatting to Another Workbook by Paste Special Tool

In our second method, we will discuss Paste Special option to copy Conditional Formatting in Excel.

Steps:

• First, select the specific range or cell where our conditional formatting lies. Then Press CTRL+C or copy using the right click of the mouse.

• Now, go to the worksheet or workbook where our new dataset is and select the entire range in the dataset, and right-click the mouse button.

• Form here, click on Paste Special as shown in the above image and a dialogue box will pop up.

• Just select Formats as shown in the above image and click OK.

All the cells are formatted accordingly.

Read More: How to Remove Conditional Formatting but Keep the Format in Excel

Similar Readings:

• Pivot Table Conditional Formatting Based on Another Column (8 Easy Ways)
• Conditional Formatting with INDEX-MATCH in Excel (4 Easy Formulas)
• Excel Conditional Formatting on Multiple Columns
• How to Do Conditional Formatting Highlight Row Based On Date
• Excel Conditional Formatting for Dates within 30 Days (3 Examples)

3. Applying Excel VBA to Copy Conditional Formatting to Another Workbook

At the end of this article, we will see the use of VBA code to copy conditional formatting from one workbook to another. Keep in mind to open both the workbook while applying this method.

Steps:

• First, right-click on the sheet and go to View Code.

• After that, copy and paste the VBA code below.

VBA code:

Sub mycopycode()

Workbooks("Copy Conditional Formatting").Worksheets("Sample Data").Activate
Range("C5:C11", "E5:E11").Select
Selection.Copy

Workbooks("Book1").Worksheets("Sheet3").Activate
Range("E4:E10", "G4:G10").Select
Range("E4:E10", "G4:G10").PasteSpecial xlPasteFormats

End Sub

• After that, press the F5 or play button to run the code.

That’s it. Our VBA has copied the format to the new workbook.

Read More: VBA Conditional Formatting Based on Another Cell Value in Excel

Things to Remember

We have to keep a couple of things in mind while doing these methods.

1. We have to check the Formula in conditional Formatting, whether it is Relative reference or Absolute reference. In case of referencing you may need to change the formula according to your cell after applying Paste Special of Format Painter.
2. Always keep open the workbooks while copying from one workbook to another.

Download Practice Workbook

Conclusion

These are 3 different methods to Copy Conditional Formatting to Another Workbook in Excel. Based on your preferences, you may choose the best alternative. Please leave them in the comments area if you have any questions or feedback

Related Articles

• How to Apply Conditional Formatting to Multiple Rows (5 Ways)
• Do Conditional Formatting with Multiple Criteria (11 Ways)
• Conditional Formatting on Text that Contains Multiple Words in Excel
• Apply Conditional Formatting to Each Row Individually: 3 Tips
• Conditional Formatting Entire Column Based on Another Column(6 Steps)
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