How to show “Progress Bars” to Represent Project Status

You’re probably used to seeing the status of projects identified in with text descriptions or percentages. But why not show progress with status bars, like this:

Just start by entering your various projects, and then add the percentage complete in the column to the right. Widen that column to give your progress bars more room, like this:

Now select the numbered cells, choose Conditional Formatting, Data Bars, and then pick the color you like. Note that all of these options leave the number in the cell, which might be exactly what you want.

If you’d rather have progress bar that only shows the bar, and no number, then choose Conditional Formatting, Data Bars, More Rules. In the New Formatting Rule dialog box, check the checkbox that says Show Bar Only, and click OK