You can combine both these requirements into one conditional format.
Highlight all the cells you want this to apply to, and click on Format
| Conditional Formatting. In the CF dialogue box choose Formula Is
rather than Cell Value Is, and then enter this formula:

=AND(A1<"Yes",A1<"")

then click the Format button and choose your background colour of Red,
then OK your way out.

This assumes that the first cell highlighted is A1 - just change this
to suit your set up, and the formula will automatically adjust to suit
the other cells.

Hope this helps.

Pete

On Aug 5, 11:17*pm, Gail wrote:
I am looking for a way to apply conditional formatting to cells that are
blank in a spreadsheet, but I don't know how to represent a blank cell - I
have tried " " and "" with no luck. * I am applying two conditions to an
entire column - one that says if the value is not equal to "Yes" (there can
be any number of alternate values in the cell) - then fill with red, I want
the second condition to be that if the cell is blank then no fill. *The end
result I am looking for is that values of Yes and blank cells will not have
the conditional formatting applied - all others will be colored red. * Maybe
I'm going about it backward.

Can this be done?

Thanks for any insights,
Gail