Excel is set up to pick up any formatting from above, but from my experience it is not consistent. Create a table, and apply an AutoFormat. Add data to the end, and sometimes it will pick up the formatting from above - shading, bold, coloured fonts, etc. I believe the setting is found in Tools - Options - Edit tab, and is called Extend Data Range Formats and Formulas. kim ----- justin_morgan69@xxxxxxxxxxx "First things first - - but not necessarily in that order." --Doctor Who ----Original Message Follows---- From: "Beth Lee" <callibeth@xxxxxxxxxxx> Why in the world would changing a cell's format from "General" to "Text" prevent a cell fill from changing from clear to light gray upon having text in it? I've combed the Help topics, and can't find an answer. ************************************************************* You are receiving this mail because you subscribed to mso@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or MicrosoftOffice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To send mail to the group, simply address it to mso@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To Unsubscribe from this group, visit the group's homepage and use the dropdown menu at the top. This will allow you to unsubscribe your email address or change your email settings to digest or vacation (no mail). //www.freelists.org/webpage/mso To be able to use the files section for sharing files with the group, send a request to mso-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx and you will be sent an invitation with instructions. Once you are a member of the files group, you can go here to upload/download files: http://www.smartgroups.com/vault/msofiles If you are using Outlook and you see a lot of unnecessary code in your email messages, read these instructions that explain why and how to fix it: http://personal-computer-tutor.com/abc3/v28/greg28.htm *************************************************************