Using Google Sheets Formatting

When you use Google Sheets formatting, your formatting selections, including conditional formatting, are applied and retained on the grid when you refresh or perform ad hoc operations.

When you use Google Sheets formatting, Smart View does not reformat cells based on your grid operations, and it does not mark cells as dirty when you change data values. Smart View does preserve the formatting on the worksheet between operations.

Using Google Sheets formatting is generally preferable for highly formatted reports, and you must use Google Sheets formatting for data sources whose application-specific colors are not supported by the Google Sheets color palate.

Google Sheets formatting is used by default, unless you select the Use Cell Styles option in the Formatting tab in the Options dialog. See Using Smart View Formatting (Cell Styles) for more information.