It is all in the wrist. Your problem is the second click;
1. click cell with formatting I want to apply.
2. click format painter button.
3. (click and ) drag mouse to select cells i want to apply the formatting.
4. release mouse button


Just combine 2 & 3 - click and drag. The Format Painter icon should be
visible in the worksheet area as you drag.

best wishes
--
Bernard V Liengme
Microsoft Excel MVP
http://people.stfx.ca/bliengme
remove caps from email

"Fay" wrote in message
...
I have tried the way it says to extend my formating down the column but it
is
not working. Here is what I am doing 1. click cell with formatting I want
to
apply. 2. click format painter button. 3.click and drag mouse to select
cells
i want to appy the formatting. 4. release mouse button.. It says the
formatting is applie to the data in the selected cells. No, it isn't. I go
to
an empty cell in the worksheet and add data to be used and the formatting
is
not there.
What am I doing wrong. These instructions are from the Microsoft Excel
book.