To pinpoint duplicate entries, apply Excel's conditional formatting feature: Open the Excel worksheet containing the data in question. Select the column or range you want to inspect for duplicates.

Microsoft Excel is perhaps the most powerful spreadsheet application you can buy. But it also has some simple functions, like finding duplicates in data.

When a conditional formatting rule is overkill, use these VBA procedures to highlight duplicates and then remove the highlighting in Microsoft Excel.

Excel's format painter doesn't just work with cell formatting—you can also duplicate formatting between shapes, charts, text boxes, and most other items in your spreadsheet.