Conditional Formats

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With conditional formatting, you can automatically change the appearance of cells, text and other elements based on specific criteria or conditions. Specifically, you can create rules based on conditions for important project information or key figures so that the respective field or the entire row is highlighted (in color) when the condition is met.

Application: Conditional formatting is particularly suitable for optimally structuring the project list, for example to highlight data, visualize trends or simply improve the readability of your data. It can also be used in project controlling as an early warning system for critical projects.

Content

Create a rule - Example with reference value

Create a rule - Example with two related fields

Create a rule - Example with dynamic date operators

Application of formatting rules - rows and cells

FAQs about Conditional Formats

  

How to create a rule with reference value:

We start with a simple formatting. This compares the value of a field with a defined reference value (condition). In the following example, the projects in the project list whose actual expenditure is above a specified value should be highlighted in red.

1. Start InLoox Web App and call up the project list by clicking on Projects in the menu on the left.

2. Click on the button at the top right and then on + Add Rule to create a formatting rule for the project list.

Create a new rule for conditional formats

3. Now define the condition:

  • We keep the already selected operator And (there are generally four operators And, Or, Not And, Not Or).

    Select the operator of the condition: And, Or, Not And, Not Or

  • A field must now be defined which is used when checking the condition and is therefore conditionally formatted. Click on the field highlighted in blue and select one of the many categories. In our case, we select Total Expenses (Actual).

    Select category of condition

  • Specify the condition by selecting the operator Is greater than in the field highlighted in green.

    Condition: Value is greater than

  • You must then enter a specific reference value under Enter a value, for our example we will use 500.

    Enter reference value fo the rule

  • You could now add further conditions in the same way and specify the rule even further. However, one condition is sufficient for our example.

4. Select the style, i.e. which color change should be made when the condition occurs.

For example, we select the red marker with the name 'Danger'.

Select the color style of the conditional formatting, e.g. Danger (red)

5. Finally, under Assign To, you can select whether the color formatting should be applied to the full row or just a single field. If you choose the second option, select a specific field. In the example, we select the full row.

Assign rule to full row or single field

6. You have now completely defined your formatting rule.

In our example, this looks as follows:

Conditional formatting: Complete sample rule

7. The rule is active immediately. Check your data to make sure that the conditional formatting works as expected. You can edit or remove the rule at any time if you want to make adjustments.

8. Result: In the project list, the Beispielprojekt 2 is now highlighted in red because the value in the TOTAL EXPENSES (ACTUAL) cell is > €500.

All other projects with a value of less than €500 have no color coding.

Conditional formatting rule applied to InLoox project list

 

How to create a rule with two related fields

Instead of setting a specific reference value in your rule (see above), you can also include another field in your rule and thus place two fields in relation to each other. This allows you, for example, to mark tasks or projects where the actual value has exceeded a target value.

When creating the rule, as usual, select a field to be used when checking the condition and then select one of the following operators:

  • Equals field value of
  • Does not equal field value of
  • Is greater than field value of
  • Is less than field value of
  • Is greater than or equal to field value of
  • Is less than or equal than field value of

Then select a second field with which you want to compare the values from field 1.

Your rule could end up looking like this:

Example 1: Booked Hours (Project) Is greater than field value of Workload (all Tasks)

This will show you those projects where the actual time recording exceeds the estimated workload of all tasks.

Example of confitional formatting - Booked hours greater than workload

Example 2: Total Expenses (Actual) Is greater than field value of Total Expenses (Plan)

Here you are warned if the actual costs of a project exceed the planned costs.

Example of confitional formatting - Actual expenses greater than planned expenses

  

How to create a rule with dynamic date operators

For rules relating to schedules and deadlines, you can also use a dynamic date operator instead of a specific date. This allows you to define rules that automatically adapt to the current date and thus avoid manual adjustments.

Proceed as usual when creating the rule (see above) and select one of the following operators:

  • Equals the start of
  • Does not equal the start of
  • Is earlier than the start of
  • Is later than the start of
  • Is earlier than or equal to the start of
  • Is later than or equal to the start of

Instead of then defining a fixed date value, select one of the following times:

  • Today / Tomorrow / Yesterday
  • This / Next / Last week
  • This / Next / Last month
  • This / Next / Last quarter
  • This / Next / Last year

Dynamische Datumsoperatoren in der Bedingten Formatierung

This time specification is automatically adjusted relative to the current date.

Example: End (Task) is earlier than the start of Next quarter

This rule is used to mark the End (task) field of all those tasks that have their deadline before the start of the next quarter, i.e. should end in this quarter.

Note This rule relates to the task list.

Beispiel Bedingte Formatierung - Dynamische Datumsoperatoren

  

Application of formatting rules - rows & cells

  • Row-Level Formatting: If multiple row-level conditional formats are defined, only the style from the last condition that matches the row's data is applied. This ensures that the row will only have one conditional style at a time, preventing conflicting styles.
  • Cell-Level Formatting: Cell-level formats are applied independently for each cell. Each cell's format is determined by the last matching rule for its specific field name. This allows different styles to be applied to different cells within the same row, based on their respective field's conditional format.

 

FAQs about Conditional Formats

Why is my conditional formatting rule not being applied?

Check common sources of error such as incorrectly set conditions or conflicts between multiple rules. There may also be a problem with the data source - fields often have very similar names (e.g. Total Expenses (Actual) vs. Total Expenses (Actual, Other)), but these control different data sources. In the column overview, you can see which columns are available in the Projects, Tasks and Time list views and which data these columns contain.

Is there a limit to the number of rules?

No, you can create as many rules as you like. Please note, however, that a large number of rules can lead to conflicts and that only the style of the last condition that matches the data is ever applied.

Are conditional formatting applied when saving views?

Yes, the rules for conditional formatting are applied when you save the (new) view.

Is it possible to export conditional formatting or make it available to other users?

Yes, by exporting the saved view or making the view visible to everyone.

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