Do you really mean the *entire* row or just a portion of the row?

Let's assume you want to format A18:J18

Select the *entire* range A18:J18 starting from cell A18. Cell A18 will be
the
active cell. The active cell is the one cell in the selected range that is
not shaded. The formula will be relative to the active cell.

If you really do mean the *entire* row then left click the row number
header.

In Excel 2007:

Goto Home tabStylesConditional FormattingManage rulesNew ruleUse a
formula to determine which cells to format
Enter this formula in the box below:
=$A18="total"
Click the Format button
Select the Borders tab
Select the border style
OK out

In Excel versions 2003 and earlier

Goto the menu FormatConditional Formatting
Select the Formula Is option
Enter this formula in the box on the right:
=$A18="total"
Click the Format button
Select the Borders tab
Select the border style
OK out

--
Biff
Microsoft Excel MVP


"HeatherJ" wrote in message
...
I know how to use conditional formatting for a cell, but is there a way to
do
conditional formatting for an entire row?

Example: if cell A18 contains the text, "total" then row 18 has a top and
bottom border.

Thanks, Heather