If you're starting out with the default fill (which is "no fill", cells have
a white background) then you don't need to format for that.

So, what you need to do is check that the cell has *some* entry and that
entry is not "Yes".

Let's assume the range of interest is A1:A10
Select the range A1:A10
Goto the menu FormatConditional Formatting
Select the Formula Is option
Enter this formula in the little box on the right:

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

Click the format button
Select the desired style(s)
OK out

Cells that contain formulas that return formula blanks will not be
formatted.

--
Biff
Microsoft Excel MVP


"Gail" wrote in message
...
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