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JoeCavasin's avatar
JoeCavasin
Brass Contributor
Oct 11, 2020

Excel Calculator with conditional format

Evening all, attaching a sample file with the formulas i already have for referencing other tabs, data pull in, data validation, etc.  This is a calculator to assist my team in determining expected reimbursement.  My current issue is just conditional formatting - i want two cells to turn black if two other cells don't contain certain info, and I want four other cells to turn black if certain info is present.  The sheet gives all the details to make it simpler to follow.  I have tried multiple attempts at correcting this, but somehow conditional formatting is kicking my butt...

7 Replies

  • JMB17's avatar
    JMB17
    Bronze Contributor
    Just a cursory look, but I think you need to fix your cell references in your conditional formatting formulas by adding $ signs.

    =OR($B$4="A",AND($B$3="CHB",$B$4="C"))
    • JoeCavasin's avatar
      JoeCavasin
      Brass Contributor

      Thanks JMB17, but if you click into any of the range B7:B10, you can see the CF formula still references the intended cells.  In the snapshot below i've selected cell B8, and see the appropriate B4 and B3 references in the selection criteria.  I would assume the remainder of B8-B10 would also fill black given that?  Is there some other part to locking the reference i'm misunderstanding?

       

       

      • JMB17's avatar
        JMB17
        Bronze Contributor
        Absolute/relative cell references work the same in conditional formatting formulas as they do worksheet formulas.

        So, no, cell B8 does not reference B3 and B4. Most likely, B7 was the active cell when you created the conditional format, so the CF formula applied to B8 is referencing B4 and B5 (and so on).

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