conditional formatting

In a form or report, a format applied to the value of a text box or other control. You can set conditional formatting based on the value in a control, an arbitrary expression referencing another control, a user-defined Visual Basic for Applications function, or the control with focus. For example, you can set conditional formatting so that if an employee's salary exceeds $100,000 the field's background turns red. Or set the formatting so the control's background color changes to yellow when the control has focus.