When you add a date, it uses a predefined format. Even though you need a format like 02/08/2021, Excel Online and Google Sheets may use something else, like 08-02-2021.

Launch Microsoft Excel. Select the entire range of columns along with the rows. Apply Conditional Formatting to the selected range of rows and columns. Click OK. Let’s see the above steps in ...

With the use of Excel’s conditional formatting, you can set the rules once and let Excel do the highlighting for you.

Excel 365 includes several preset date formats designed to meet a variety of needs: Short Date: Displays dates in a compact format, such as “7/28/2025,” which is ideal for concise data tables.