Learn how to insert indicators in the lighthouse format in spreadsheets in Excel with the conditional formatting tool
One way to make it easier to interpret more data and extract indicators in an Excel spreadsheet is to use the conditional formatting tool, which allows you to define rules and create signals for goals, values and percentages. With this tool, you can create conditionals based on cell values to format fields with colors and visual indicators, like inserting a beacon.
Conditional formatting in Excel makes data easier to read and highlights the most important information in a table.
How to insert Lighthouse in Excel
A beacon can be configured using Excel’s conditional formatting tool based on a column of cells with numeric values.

To exemplify this tutorial, consider a beacon that indicates green for less than 30%, yellow for values between 30% and 60%, and red for more than 60%. Our lighthouse uses column F as the basis for percentage values.
- Create a column to serve as a lighthouse;
- Fill the cells in that column with the lowercase letter “n”;
- Change the font of the Faro column to “Webdings”;
- Select the first cell of the “n” value of the Faro column;
- In the Home tab, access “Conditional Formatting”;
- Click “New Rule” to add a new condition;
- Select the “Classic” style option;
- Choose “Use a formula to determine which cells to format”;
- In the rule description, enter =$F3<=0.3 and set the formatting color to green;
- Repeat steps 5 to 8 to enter another rule;
- In the rule description, type =$F3<=0.6 and choose formatting in yellow color;
- Repeat steps 5 to 8 again to add another condition;
- write it down =$F3>0.6 in the description and the red color for the text;
- Select the first value cell of the Lighthouse column and click the “Brush” tool;
- Drag formatting to the remaining cells in the Faro column to apply the rules.


Lighthouse indicators are marked with the colors defined by conditional formatting formulas.
Why use the lighthouse in Excel
Lighthouse-style signs in Excel can be used to make data easier to read and interpret in a variety of cases, such as in spreadsheets for:
- Execution of tasks;
- Goal progression;
- Inventory tracking;
- Sales tracking;
- Expenses and budget control.
See also spreadsheet templates in excel to increase your productivity and apply conditional formatting formulas.
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