I would like all cells in a range to become formatted blue when the first cell in the row contains "p". However, I can't seem to get it to work. I went to the Conditional Formatting Rules manager, and the rule is: Formula: = "a9=p". The Format field contains black text on a blue background, and the Applies To field contains the range of cells: =$A$9:$H$9.



When I change the contents of A9 to "p" nothing happens. I also tried an IF statement, but that didn't work either.

I also presume I'll have to remove all the $ from the "applies to" field because I'll be re-sorting the data in a number of ways, and would like the formatting to follow the content when it re-sorts. However, when I attempt to do this, Excel puts the $ back.

Could you please tell me how to enter this so the formatting works correctly?

Thanks!