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Step 1 - Highlight the cells

This example shows you how to identify particular items in a list.

When a particular item or category is entered in column "B", the conditional format automatically highlights all the corresponding entries in the list in column "D".

Select the cells you want to apply the conditional formatting to, in this case "D3:D14".

Step 2 - Enter Conditions

Press (Format > Conditional Formatting) to display the Conditional Formatting dialog box.

Select the "Formula is" in the first drop-down list and enter the formula "=COUNTIF($B$B,D3)".

Press OK to apply the conditional formatting.

Step 3 - Getting the Total

You could also return the total number of items that match in the list by using an Array Formulas.