Highlight all cells hat start with a period

[kelemvor]

Howdy,

Not sure why I can't get to work but I'm having trouble.

I have a big list of data and some of the cells start with a period. Some have just a single period, some have lots, some have periods with data after it. All I want to do is highlight any cell that starts with a period.

I've tried using conditional formatting but just can't make the darn thing work.

Can anyone help me get this working? This is with Excel 2003 if that matters.

Thanks.

[JBeaucaire]

Conditional formatting would work. If the range of cells to affect were A2:A50...

1) Select A2:A50
2) Open Conditional Formatting and apply these settings:

Condition1: Formula Is: =LEFT(A2,1)="."
Format... Pattern... select a color

The trick is to highlight the range of cells and then enter the formula based on the current primary cell in the range selected, usually the first cell.

[kelemvor]

Conditional formatting would work. If the range of cells to affect were A2:A50...

1) Select A2:A50
2) Open Conditional Formatting and apply these settings:

Condition1: Formula Is: =LEFT(A2,1)="."
Format... Pattern... select a color

The trick is to highlight the range of cells and then enter the formula based on the current primary cell in the range selected, usually the first cell.

OK, that worked. Can I do it if I select the whole sheet or select entire columns? Or is it better to just do it via the cell range? I really just need to check 4 columns (D-G) but it's not that big of a deal to select the cells.

[JBeaucaire]

I never apply conditional formatting formulas to entire columns, never.

If I only wanted to watch 100 rows, I would apply the formatting to maybe 200-300 rows to give room for expansion. Just the range needed and perhaps a little more.

If that takes care of your need, please click EDIT in your original post, click GO ADVANCED and set the PREFIX box to SOLVED.

[kelemvor]

It does, and I did.
Thanks.