Conflicting conditional formatting rules in Excel

Sometimes conditional formatting rules can conflict. If this happens, Excel applies the rule that is in the list above. Here are two options as an example:

1. The value 95 is greater than 80, but it is also the highest value in the list (Top 1). The formats are in conflict (yellow fill vs. green fill and text color yellow vs. green). The rule listed above applies. The resulting value is 95 yellow.
   

   Translator’s Note: You can select the one largest value in the list (Top 1) by pressing Home > Conditional Formatting > Rules for selecting the first and last values > First 10 elements and setting 10 instead of 1.

   Result:

   

2. Move the second rule up. The value 95 is the highest value in the list (Top 1), but it is also greater than 80. The formats clash (green vs. yellow vs. green text vs. yellow). The rule listed above applies. As a result, the value 95 is colored green.Result:

   

Note: Check the box for the option Stop if true (Stop If True) to ensure backward compatibility with earlier versions of Microsoft Excel.