How to Create Alerts in Excel (4 Easy Methods)

In the below dataset we have three columns displaying Client names, Meeting Dates, and Alerts.

Method 1 – Using the IF Function to Create Alerts Automatically

Steps:

Enter the following formula in cell D5:

=IF(C5=TODAY(),"Today","Due Later")

Press Enter to see the result in D5. The return is TODAY.

Use the Fill Handle tool to AutoFill the rest of the cells in column D.

Formula Breakdown

TODAY() returns the current day in a date format.
=IF(C5=TODAY(),”Today”,”Due Later”) verifies whether the conditions are TRUE or FALSE. If TRUE, then it returns Today, and if FALSE, it thoroughly returns Due Later.

Method 2 – Combining IF, TODAY & AND Functions to Show Alerts

Steps:

Enter the following formula in cell D5:

=IF(AND(C5<>"",TODAY()=C5),"Today","Due Later")

Press Enter.

AutoFill the range by dragging the formula cell down.
The alerts pop up in the dataset.

Formula Breakdown

TODAY() returns the current day in a date format.
AND(C5<>””,TODAY()=C5) checks whether the statement is TRUE and returns only the TRUE
=IF(AND(C5<>””,TODAY()=C5),”Today”,”Due Later”) verifies whether the conditions are TRUE or FALSE. If TRUE then it returns Today and if FALSE, it thoroughly returns Due Later.

Method 3 – Using the Conditional Formatting Feature to Display Alerts Notifications

Steps:

Enter the following formula in D5:

=IF(AND(C5<>"",TODAY()=C5),"Today","Due Later")

Press Enter to get the result.

Drag the AutoFill Handle up to cell D9.
The alert texts are in the range.

Select the range C5:C9.
Go to the Home tab and click the Conditional Formatting option.

A drop-down box appears.
Tap the New Rule option.

The New Formatting Rule pops up.
Choose the option Use a formula to determine which cells to format.
In the Edit the Rule Description box, type = and paste the formula.
hit Format.

The Format Cells menu option opens.
To illustrate, we selected Green and pressed OK.

Our meeting date is highlighted.

Method 4 – Running an Excel VBA Code to Get Pop-up Alerts

Steps:

Go to the Developer tab and click Visual Basic.

The Visual Basic window pops up.
Click View > Project Explorer > This Workbook to open a workbook.

Enter the VBA code below:

Private Sub Workbook_Open()
Dim Create_Alerts As Range
Dim Alerts As Range
Dim A_Notify As String
Set Create_Alerts = Range("D5:D9")
For Each Alerts In Create_Alerts
    If Alerts <> "" And Date = DateDue Then
        A_Notify = A_Notify & " " & Alerts.Offset(0, -2)
    End If
Next Alerts
If A_Notify = "" Then
    MsgBox "You have a meeting today."
Else: MsgBox "You do not have a meeting today." & A_Notify
End If
End Sub