Merged Cell Conditional Formatting Borders

When I apply conditional formatting to a range of merged cells the
conditional borders I specify do not extend around the entire merged range;
they only appear on the top, left, and bottom of first cell of the range.
Fonts and patterns work fine across the entire merged range, but the borders
do not seem to recognize that the range extends across several cells.

Is thare a workaround for this, or another way to accomplish this without
using code? (The rest of the sheet is working fine, and will be used by a
wide assortment of users so I don't want the risk / hassle of requiring that
macros are enabled to make the sheet work properly).

In case it matters, the conditional formatting is based on a formula such
as: {=A10="OTHER"} so when a value of "Other" is entered in cell A10,
(through a data validation list), the conditionally formatted range should
appear along with a prompt to enter a description of what the value of
"Other" represents.

Thanks, Any suggestions are greatly appreciated,

TK

Hi ...,
I had no trouble putting borders around merged cells.
What you have to do is select the columns that you want colored borders
to apply to and that includes all parts of the merged cell(s)

That also means you must change your formula to
=$A10="OTHER
because it is referenced from more than one column. so you must
mke the Column reference Absolute.

---
HTH,
David McRitchie, Microsoft MVP - Excel [site changed Nov. 2001]
My Excel Pages: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/excel.htm
Search Page: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/search.htm

"T Kirtley" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> When I apply conditional formatting to a range of merged cells the
> conditional borders I specify do not extend around the entire merged range;
> they only appear on the top, left, and bottom of first cell of the range.
> Fonts and patterns work fine across the entire merged range, but the borders
> do not seem to recognize that the range extends across several cells.
>
> Is thare a workaround for this, or another way to accomplish this without
> using code? (The rest of the sheet is working fine, and will be used by a
> wide assortment of users so I don't want the risk / hassle of requiring that
> macros are enabled to make the sheet work properly).
>
> In case it matters, the conditional formatting is based on a formula such
> as: {=A10="OTHER"} so when a value of "Other" is entered in cell A10,
> (through a data validation list), the conditionally formatted range should
> appear along with a prompt to enter a description of what the value of
> "Other" represents.
>
> Thanks, Any suggestions are greatly appreciated,
>
> TK

Thanks David!

Using an absolute reference in the condition's formula did the trick.

Funny though, conditional cell shading worked fine across all cells in the
merged range without using an absolute reference in the formula, it was just
the borders that were picky about the absolute reference.

Anyway, it's working fine now.

Thanks again,

TK

"David McRitchie" wrote:

> Hi ...,
> I had no trouble putting borders around merged cells.
> What you have to do is select the columns that you want colored borders
> to apply to and that includes all parts of the merged cell(s)
>
> That also means you must change your formula to
> =$A10="OTHER
> because it is referenced from more than one column. so you must
> mke the Column reference Absolute.
>
> ---
> HTH,
> David McRitchie, Microsoft MVP - Excel [site changed Nov. 2001]
> My Excel Pages: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/excel.htm
> Search Page: http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/search.htm
>
> "T Kirtley" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > When I apply conditional formatting to a range of merged cells the
> > conditional borders I specify do not extend around the entire merged range;
> > they only appear on the top, left, and bottom of first cell of the range.
> > Fonts and patterns work fine across the entire merged range, but the borders
> > do not seem to recognize that the range extends across several cells.
> >
> > Is thare a workaround for this, or another way to accomplish this without
> > using code? (The rest of the sheet is working fine, and will be used by a
> > wide assortment of users so I don't want the risk / hassle of requiring that
> > macros are enabled to make the sheet work properly).
> >
> > In case it matters, the conditional formatting is based on a formula such
> > as: {=A10="OTHER"} so when a value of "Other" is entered in cell A10,
> > (through a data validation list), the conditionally formatted range should
> > appear along with a prompt to enter a description of what the value of
> > "Other" represents.
> >
> > Thanks, Any suggestions are greatly appreciated,
> >
> > TK
>
>
>