Conditional Formatting Help

[dpsypher]

I have a column of data and would like to highlight the cells if the first 8 characters are a match. Any ideas on how to get this done?

 

[AnalystJames]

You can run a macro, something like this (adjust for column and specific characters):

Sub Format()

'set length

Range("A2").Select
Dim length As Integer
length = ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Rows.Count

'highlight cells with ABCDEFGH as first eight characters

Dim i As Integer
Dim myString As String
For i = 2 To length
Range("A" & i).Select
myString = Selection
myString = Left(myString, 8)
If myString = "ABCDEFGH" Then
Selection.Interior.ColorIndex = 3
End If
Next i

End Sub

 

[V_Malkoti]

You can use conditional formatting in Excel.

Select your column and open Home -> Conditional Formatting and add a new rule.
In "Format only cells that contain" option, select "Specific text" in first drop-down, "Beginning with" in second drop-down, and enter your 8 character string in third field. Then click on Format button and choose formatting options.