Conditional Formatting for background color and text based another cell value

Question

Hello,

I want to be able to test the value in cell $A$3 and determine if it has the text "YES" entered. IF $A$3 is "YES" then the cell $D$3 background should be set to a color and the text for cell $D$3 should say "NA".

I've tried using the following for Microsoft Excel 2003, but does not work. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thank you, Von

=IF($A$3="YES", "NA","") Additionally, I have the background color set to light Grey when true.

The background changes color when cell $A$3 is "YES", but the text of "NA" is not visible.

Answer 1

I know it sounds silly, but did you set both the text color and background color to light gray?

If you used the function in that manner (the correct one), and the background color is changing as expected, then there has to be something else causing this problem.

Answer 2

The syntax as given works for me in Excel 2003 SP2.

The coloring is done using Format -> Conditional Formatting. When you've got your conditions set up, select the 'Format...' button for each and set the format values the way you want using the dialog. There is a limit of three alternate formats that can be applied to a given cell this way.

Answer 3

In your conditional format, make sure to specify the color of the text as well as the background.