Anne wrote:
how do i write a formula for a cell that i want to format if the date entered
into the cell is within 7 days beyond a date in another cell.

Because Excel stores dates as numbers, you would write this exactly the same way
as "if the number entered into the cell is within 7 beyond a number in another
cell".

So, if I understand correctly, to format cell A1 based upon the entry in B1:

Cell Value Is less than or equal to =B1+7