Excel conditional formatting

[Emily4242]

I'm having an issue with conditional formatting in Excel. Column B in my file has formatting to highlight any duplicate values. I only want this formatting in this column. But Excel keeps "helping" by extending the formatting to column C, and if I allow that it eventually moves to column D as well. I have cleared all conditional formatting for columns C and D at least a dozen times, but it keeps happening. How do I stop this? 

[#2]

@Emily4242 

Can you snap a couple screen shots of the Conditional Formatting dialog box where your rules are displayed. It sounds like there's something you should be able to do there to limit this. Alternatively, if the spreadsheet is not full of confidential or private information, you could post a copy of the actual spreadsheet on OneDrive or GoogleDrive with a link posted here that grants edit access to it. That way I or somebody else could look at those rules.

[#3]

@Emily4242 

If you are experiencing issues with conditional formatting in Excel where the formatting extends to other columns unintentionally, you can follow these steps to resolve the problem:

1. Select the entire range of cells where you want the conditional formatting to be applied (in this case, column B).
2. On the Excel Ribbon, go to the "Home" tab and click on the "Conditional Formatting" button.
3. From the dropdown menu, choose "Clear Rules" and then select "Clear Rules from Selected Cells." This will remove any existing conditional formatting rules from the selected range.
4. Once the rules are cleared, apply the desired conditional formatting only to column B. To do this, select the range of cells in column B, go to the "Home" tab, click on the "Conditional Formatting" button, and choose the formatting rule you want to apply to highlight duplicate values.
5. Verify that the formatting is applied correctly to column B only and does not extend to other columns.

If Excel still continues to extend the conditional formatting to other columns after following these steps, there might be some hidden formatting rules or unintentional references in your workbook. In that case, you can try the following additional steps:

1. Save your workbook and close it.
2. Reopen Excel and load the workbook again.
3. Go to the "Home" tab and click on the "Conditional Formatting" button.
4. From the dropdown menu, choose "Manage Rules."
5. In the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager, review the list of rules and ensure that there are no rules applied to columns C and D. If you find any, delete them.
6. Close the Conditional Formatting Rules Manager.
7. Select the range of cells in column B again and reapply the desired conditional formatting rule.

By clearing any existing formatting rules, reapplying the formatting only to column B, and ensuring there are no hidden rules, you should be able to prevent the conditional formatting from extending to other columns in Excel.

It's important to note that older versions of Excel, may have limited or different options for conditional formatting. If you are using an older version, the steps provided may not be applicable, and you may need to refer to the specific documentation or resources for your version of Excel.

If none of this helps, I can only recommend what Mr.mathetes  has already suggested to you. In addition to this recommendation, information such as Excel version, operating system, storage medium would also help.

Other than that, I wish you good luck with Excel! :)