Have you ever found yourself overwhelmed by a large dataset in Google Sheets, struggling to identify the latest records? Sorting your data based on a column other than a date column can make it challenging to pinpoint the most recent rows. That’s where highlighting the latest N values becomes invaluable.
In Google Sheets, there are various formula combinations that can help solve specific problems. In this case, we’ll use a combination of the Filter, Sort, and Index functions within the custom formula field in conditional formatting. Let’s dive into the details below.
Formula to Highlight the Latest N Values in Google Sheets
Before we begin, let’s assume we have data in column A (dates) and column B (numbers). Our goal is to highlight the latest N values in column B based on the corresponding dates in column A.
To achieve this, we’ll use the following formula:
=and(B2>0,A2>=index(sort(filter($A$2:$A,$B$2:$B>0),1,0),N))In the above formula, replace N with the desired number of recent records you want to highlight. For example, if N=10, the formula will highlight the latest ten values in Google Sheets.
Applying the Rule
To use the above rule for highlighting, follow these steps:
- Select the range B2:B, where you want to apply the fill color through conditional formatting.
- Go to the Format menu > Conditional formatting and ensure the “Apply to range” is set to B2:B1000 or the appropriate range.
- Select “Custom formula is” and enter the above rule (formula).
- Click “Done,” and voila! The latest N values will now be highlighted.
Understanding the Formula
To understand the formula better, let’s focus on the center portion of it – the FILTER function.
step_1: =filter($A$2:$A,$B$2:$B>0)
This step filters out rows that don’t have values in column B, ensuring that the highlighted range of the latest N values doesn’t include any blank cells.
step_2: =sort(step_1,1,0)
Here, we sort the data to move the latest records to the top of the sheet.
step_3: =index(step_2,N)
The INDEX function offsets N rows and returns the date from the corresponding cell. For example, if N=10, the formula will return the date in the 10th row from the top. All the dates greater than or equal to this date will fall under the latest N records.
step_4: =and(B2>0,A2>=step_3)
In this step, we use the AND function to check if both the value in column B is greater than zero and if the value in column A is greater than or equal to step_3. This condition ensures that only the latest N values are highlighted.
It’s important to note that if you have duplicates of the nth date, the formula will highlight them as well. If you wish, you can use the following SORTN formula to extract those records:
=sortn(filter(A2:B,B2:B<>""),n,1,1,0)Using the QUERY Formula for Highlighting the Latest N Values
Alternatively, you can replace the Filter, Sort, and Index combo (step_3) with a QUERY formula. The QUERY formula allows us to filter, sort, and offset records in a dataset.
The formula would be:
=query($A$2:$B,"Select A where B is not null order by A desc limit 1 offset N-1")Remember to replace N-1 with the appropriate offset value. For example, if N=10, replace N-1 with 9.
To highlight the latest N values in Google Sheets using the QUERY formula, you can use the following formula in conditional formatting:
=and(B2>0,A2>=query($A$2:$B,"Select A where B is not null order by A desc limit 1 offset N-1"))That’s all! Now you can easily highlight the latest N values in your Google Sheets data. If you want to dive deeper into related topics or explore more Google Sheets tips and tricks, feel free to check out Crawlan.com.
Enjoy your enhanced data analysis experience with Google Sheets!
