Formatting in 07

[derohanes]

I'm trying to format a row, based on the content of one of the cells in that row. I've looked at several of the options in the conditional formatting dropdown, but I can't fugure out how to apply a format to a range of cells based on the content of one cell in that row. Beyond that, it wants to force a format to an absolute like $A$1:$G$1. Ultimately, I want to apply that format of shading a row based on the content of one cell to the complete worksheet, but it is forcing absolutes. What function and syntax do I use?

[Pecoflyer]

Say you want to format range A1:E100 based on the value of col A not being empty
Select the range
Click Conditional formatting - New rule - Use a formula...
Enter =$a1<>""
Format as required
OK