You only need to test the first character:
Format Conditional formatting... Formula Is
=left(a1,1)="W"
and pick the format


Same for DDD
--
Gary''s Student - gsnu200743


"mailrail" wrote:

I was curious whether or not I could conditionally format a cell if it
contains part of what I'm wanting it to look for. In other words, my cells
contain either "W 14" or DDD 12", for example. I just need the cells to
change color based on whether or not it contains the "W" or the "DDD" and not
the number that follows. How do I do this?