Other values are assigned a weighted blend of color.
This makes it easy to see general patterns in data, especially with a large data set.
Let’s take a look.
Here we have a large table that shows average monthly temperatures for Salt Lake City from 1949 through 2012.
Let’s use a color scale to help visualize the numbers.
There are twelve presets in the Color Scales category of the Conditional Formatting menu.
The first six presets are 3-color color scales, and next six presets are 2-color color scales.
For temperatures, the red-yellow-green preset is a good starting point.
Once we select this option, the format is applied immediately to all values in the selection.
Color scales can be set using Numbers, Percents, Formulas, or Percentiles.
The result can be quite subtle and yet make the numbers much easier to understand at a glance.
