Notice: This website is an unofficial Microsoft Knowledge Base (hereinafter KB) archive and is intended to provide a reliable access to deleted content from Microsoft KB. All KB articles are owned by Microsoft Corporation. Read full disclaimer for more details.

XL2000: Conditional Formatting Applies Only to the First Character in a Cell


View products that this article applies to.

Symptoms

When you format a cell with conditional formatting, and then format the first character in the cell with another format (such as a different font size, color, or underline), the rest of the letters may lose the conditional formatting.

↑ Back to the top


Cause

This behavior can occur when you change the format of the first character in a cell with conditional formatting, as in the following example:
  1. Start Excel, and then type One in cell A1.
  2. Select cell A1.
  3. On the Format menu, click Conditional Formatting.
  4. In the first box under Condition 1, click Cell Value Is.
  5. In the second box under Condition 1, click equal to.
  6. In the third box under Condition 1, type One.
  7. Click Format.
  8. In the Color box, click Red, and then click OK twice.

    Note that the word "One" in cell A1 is red.
  9. Select cell A1, and then select the letter "O."
  10. On the Format menu, click Cells.
  11. Under Font style, click Bold, and then click OK.

    Note that the letter "O" is bold and red, but that the letters "ne" are now black (they have lost their conditional formatting).

↑ Back to the top


Workaround

To work around this issue, use cell formatting to restore the look of the conditional formatting when conditional formatting is lost.

↑ Back to the top


Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

↑ Back to the top


Keywords: KB215241, kbpending, kbbug

↑ Back to the top

Article Info
Article ID : 215241
Revision : 5
Created on : 11/5/2003
Published on : 11/5/2003
Exists online : False
Views : 235