Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Conditionally Formatting an Entire Row.

Conditionally Formatting an Entire Row

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated April 11, 2020)

Graham described a problem he was having with a worksheet. He wanted to use conditional formatting to highlight all the cells in a row, if the value in column E was greater than a particular value. He was having problems coming up with the proper way to do that.

Suppose for a moment that your data is in cells A3:H50. You can apply the proper conditional formatting by following these steps:

  1. Select cell A3.
  2. With A3 still selected, scroll the worksheet so you can see cell H50.
  3. Hold down the Shift key as you click on H50. The entire range A3:H50 should be selected, and A3 should still be the active cell.
  4. Choose Conditional Format from the Format menu. Excel displays the Conditional Formatting dialog box.
  5. In the left-most drop-down list for Condition 1, select Formula Is. (See Figure 1.)

    6. Figure 1. The Conditional Formatting dialog box.

  6. In the formula space just to the right of the drop-down list, enter the following formula:
     =$E3>40000
  1. Click the Format button. Excel displays the Format Cells dialog box. (See Figure 2.)

    2. Figure 2. The Format Cells dialog box.

  2. Using the controls in the dialog box, specify how you want the cells that are greater than 40,000 to be displayed.
  3. Click OK to dismiss the Format Cells dialog box.
  4. Click OK to accept your conditional format.

This formula used in the conditional format works because you use the absolute indicator (the dollar sign) just before the column letter. Any reference that has the $ before it is not changed when Excel propagates it throughout a range. In this case, the cell reference will always be to column E, although the row portion of the reference can change.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2798) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Conditionally Formatting an Entire Row.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Saving Changes when Closing

If you write a macro that makes changes to a document, you may want that macro to save those changes. There are several ...

Discover More

Determining the Horizontal Position of the Insertion Point

Need to figure out how far the insertion point is from the left margin? You can do so by using this small macro that ...

Discover More

Changing the Color of a List of Words

The Find and Replace tool is very powerful. If you need to use it many, many times in a row, however, it can quickly get ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Formatting Raw Data

When you get a bunch of raw data into Excel from an external source, it isn't going to be formatted to your liking. The ...

Discover More

Using Strikethrough Formatting

Need a line through the middle of your text? Use strikethrough formatting, which is easy to apply using the Format Cells ...

Discover More

Copying Formats to a New Worksheet

Do you want to copy formats from one worksheet to another? You can do so easily by using the Format Painter. It even ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is six minus 1?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.