If you have any leading or trailing spaces in those cells, or other
text, then you will have to select Formula Is instead of Cell Content
Is and then enter these formulae as appropriate:

1st CF: =LEFT(TRIM(B2),19)="no exceptions noted" --set patterns
to red
2nd CF: =LEFT(TRIM(B2),16)="exceptions noted" --set patterns to
green

Ensure that Excel does not add extra quote marks to the formulae.

Hope this helps.

Pete


On Aug 20, 9:52 pm, pfa wrote:
I have a question about conditional formatting. I have cells beginning with
the text "no exceptions noted", and others beginning with the text
"exceptions noted". For "no exceptions noted" I would like conditional
formatting to change the cell to a red background color and, for the other, a
green background color. I tried using conditional formating with cell value
equal to each of the texts (and changing the result to the appropriate
background color) but it didn't work.
Any suggestions?

Thanks!