Highlighting Duplicates in Google Sheets

Have you ever found yourself struggling to identify duplicate values in your Google Sheets? Well, worry no more! The highlighting duplicates feature in Google Sheets is an incredibly useful tool that allows you to quickly identify duplicate values with ease. Whether you’re working with a single column or multiple columns, you can easily highlight duplicates using conditional formatting and the UNIQUE function. In this article, I’ll show you how to use these features to highlight duplicates in Google Sheets, so let’s dive in!

Highlighting Duplicates in a Single Column

The most common method to highlight duplicates in Google Sheets is to use conditional formatting. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Select the range of data in the column where you want to find duplicates.
2. Click on “Format” > “Conditional formatting”.
3. Select “Cell is equal to” from the drop-down menu under “Format cells if”.
4. Enter the following formula: =COUNTIF(range, cell_reference)>1.
5. Choose the formatting style you want to apply to the duplicates.
6. Click on “Done”.

Now, all duplicates in the selected column will be highlighted according to the formatting style you chose. It’s as simple as that!

Highlighting Duplicates in Multiple Columns

You can also use conditional formatting to highlight duplicates in multiple columns. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Select the range of data in the columns where you want to find duplicates.
2. Click on “Format” > “Conditional formatting”.
3. Select “Cell is equal to” from the drop-down menu under “Format cells if”.
4. Enter the same formula as before: =COUNTIF(range, cell_reference)>1.
5. Choose the formatting style you want to apply to the duplicates.
6. Click on “Done”.

Now, all duplicates in the selected columns will be highlighted based on the formatting style you selected. It couldn’t be any easier!

Using the UNIQUE Function to Check for Duplicates

If you’re working with a small data set and simply want to check for duplicates, you can use the UNIQUE function. Here’s how:

1. Select an empty cell and press “Enter”.
2. Type =UNIQUE(data_range) and drag it across the cells you want to check.
3. Press “Enter”.

Now, all unique values in the selected data range will be displayed in the cells you chose. If you notice any duplicates, it means there are duplicate values in your data set. Simple as that!

Potential Issues When Highlighting Duplicates

Sometimes, even when you follow all the steps mentioned above, Google Sheets might not highlight duplicates. Here are a few common issues to check for:

• Extra spaces in cells: Make sure there are no extra spaces in your cells, as this can lead to inconsistencies when searching for duplicates.
• Incorrect reference: Double-check that the cell references used in your formulas are correct. There are three types of references in Google Sheets: absolute, relative, and mixed. Ensure you’re using the correct type of reference to get the desired results.

Conclusion

Highlighting duplicates in Google Sheets is a simple yet powerful way to manage and analyze your data effectively. Whether you’re working with a single column or multiple columns, you can use conditional formatting and the UNIQUE function to quickly identify duplicates. I hope this article has been helpful, and that you’ll be able to apply these techniques in your own Google Sheets.

If you want to learn more about Google Sheets’ features, be sure to check out my website Crawlan.com for more tutorials and tips. Happy Sheets-ing!