You would use $A1 if the active cell is on Row 1 when you
enter your Conditional Formatting formulas.
I don't think you looked at my web page condfmt.htm
Select A1 so you are at the top of the worksheet.
Select Columns B:G since these are the only columns
you want to be colored. That means that B1 will be your
active cell. Since the formula is absolute to column ($A), it really
only matters that you are on row 1 when you enter the C.F.
Format, Conditional Formatting
condition 1:
formula is: =$A1 <= 0
format button, pattern, choose a light blue
=$A1 <= 0 B:G become blue
You are set up completely no C.F formula need to be
copied to any other cells, no fiddling with the Format Painter.
---
HTH,
David McRitchie, Microsoft MVP - Excel [site changed Nov. 2001]
My Excel Pages:
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/excel.htm
Search Page:
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/search.htm
Eqbal Vkilzadeh said:
HI,
I used your comments so far as i understood them. But there is one
problem
and that is i did not ask my question correctly:
actually i want to conditionally format my entire columns B to G
according
to the value of their relative leftmost cell in column A in each row.
i.e.
if the value of a1 is less than or equal to 0 then b1 to g1 becom blue
or
..., and if the value of a2 is less than or equal to 0 b2 to g2 turn
into
blue. if i use absolute references then all the conditions would refer
to
a1, if i don't and select b1 to g1 and then use the conditional
formatting
then the condition in c1 is automatically relative to b1 (that is if
b1<=0
then ...). now please tell there is another way other than conditionally
formatting each cell from b1 to g1 relative to a1 and then using the
fill
handle or format painter for the other rows below.
tnx,
eqbal