Don't forget what I originally stated in my first post,
these CF formulas are like regular formulas (except for circular
references),
so you *will need* absolutes in some situations.
When you attempt to copy the CF across columns, along a row, you'll need the
column references to be absolute.
ALSO, your use of Istext() to evaluate a date entry is not the wisest
function to use.
If dates are entered as 7/28/09, XL treats it as a *number*, and will return
FALSE, therefore not invoking the CF for those cells.
If there is a possibility that the date *might* be entered as text
(July-22-),
then this formula should cover both cases:
=$H12<>""
AND, for your first condition, use:
=AND(ISBLANK($H12),$G$2>$G12)
Finally, if you already have data in those cells you're looking to use CF
on,
*DO* use the "Format Painter".
As a hint, *double* clicking on the "Format Painter" icon will keep it
active through multiple mouse clicks.
Don't forget to hit <Esc> to turn it off, or you could make a real mess of
your sheet!
--
HTH,
RD
=====================================================
Please keep all correspondence within the Group, so all may benefit!
=====================================================
Thanks to you both, I removed the $ where appropriate, and it's working, for
the most part.
I was able to fill down a single cell through the remainder of the column
and it worked beautifully. Where I'm still having trouble is filling down
for an entire row.
I highlighted the cells in the row I wanted the conditional formatting to
apply to, and here are the two conditions I wrote:
Formula Is =AND(ISBLANK(H12),$G$2>G12)
I do want the absolute reference to G2, as that is a date entry that
will change to affect the results I'm looking for. A TRUE statement will
highlight the entire row yellow to indicate it's an overdue item as there is
no completion date entered (H12 is blank) and the target due date (G12) is
past today's date ($G$2).
Formula Is =ISTEXT(H12)
I want the row to highlight green to indicate there is a completion
date entered in H12, and it is now a closed item.
What isn't working is that the entire row isn't highlighting...two cells are
staying clear when the item is overdue, and one cell is staying clear when
the item is completed.
Also, when I try to fill down the formatting, it's filling down the text of
the cells...should I use format painter in this instance, as I'm changing a
spreadsheet that's already in common use and can't (and don't want to!!!)
necessarily start from scratch on the data entry.