Excel 2010 - Conditional Formatting Multiple Cells

Question

I'm using Excel 2010 on Windows 7

I have a drop down in column A (options to select are open and closed) and when I select the option of closed then i would like ONLY specific cells within that row to be 'greyed out'.

Unfortunately I only know a formula to format a whole row (=INDIRECT("A"&ROW())="Closed") but this does not work for me as i only require specific cells to be greyed out and not the whole row

Please advise of the correct formula which i can apply to the whole spreadsheet.

Cell which contains the drop down options of open, closed: A6 Corresponding cells within that row which require formatting: B6 D6 E6 G6 I6 J6 K6 M6 N6

Answer 1

Apply the conditional formatting to the first cell then in the conditional formatting rules manager,input in the applies to box =B6,D6,E6,G6,I6,J6,K6,M6,N6.

Answer 2

Select the cells you want the conditional formatting to apply to with Ctrl and the mouse. Then goto Home tab->Styles->Conditional Formatting->Manage rules->New rule_->Use formula to determine which cells to forma and apply this formula =$A1="Closed".

That will apply the format to all in the selection. The $A1 will ensure all cells in row 1 check column A.

In case you want to apply the format to some other cells later, you can simply adjust this in the Rules Manager.