Row vs cell scope

Every conditional formatting rule has a scope — either Row or Cell. The scope decides whether a match paints the whole row’s background or only the matching column’s cell. Picking the right scope keeps your grid scannable without overwhelming it.

This page explains the behavior of each scope and gives you a quick rule of thumb for choosing between them.

Row scope

A row rule paints the entire row when the field value matches.

• Use when the whole issue is in a notable state: overdue, blocked, done, at risk.
• The rule’s condition field can be any field — Status, Due Date, a custom flag — even if that field isn’t a column you show.
• Only one row rule wins per row. The first matching rule (top to bottom in the list) applies.
• Row rules paint background color and optionally text color across every visible cell in the row.

When to use:

• A status change affects how you read the whole issue (“Blocked” — whole row amber).
• A due date has slipped and you want to see it regardless of which column you scroll to.

Cell scope

A cell rule paints only the cell in the column the rule targets.

• Use when the signal is column-specific — a late due date belongs on the due date cell, not the whole row.
• The condition field and the painted cell are the same column.
• You can also enable Bold on a cell rule to emphasize the value further.
• Cell rules coexist with row rules: a row rule paints the background; a cell rule paints on top of it in its column.

When to use:

• Priority column colored by priority value (Highest → red, High → orange, etc.).
• Due Date column turning red when the date is in the past.
• Story Points cells flagged blue when they exceed a threshold.

How they combine

1. Foundation evaluates row rules first against the row.
2. The first row rule that matches paints the whole row’s background and text color.
3. Then for each cell in that row, Foundation evaluates cell rules scoped to that column.
4. The first matching cell rule overlays its background, text color, and bold weight on that cell.

This means a row rule gives the baseline tint and cell rules add emphasis on specific columns.

Quick rule of thumb

• If the signal is about the issue as a whole (blocked, overdue, done), use Row.
• If the signal is about one field (a priority value, a numeric threshold), use Cell.
• Use both together to combine background context with focused emphasis.

Example: overdue + priority emphasis

1. Row rule — field = Due Date, operator = In the past, color = Red. The whole row goes red when it’s late.
2. Cell rule — field = Priority, operator = Equals, value = Highest, color = Red, bold on. Highest-priority cells draw extra attention even inside already-red rows.

Related

• Create a formatting rule
• Operators reference
• Conditional formatting overview