I have placed the following formula as a conditional format in cell M3:

=AND(M3<"",M3<$M$1)

I then did a 'Format Paint' of M3 to M4-M20.

If I look at the conditional format formula in cell M20, it reads as follows:

=AND(M4<"",M4<$M$1)

whereas in Excel 2003 the formula would have read

=AND(M20<"",M20<$M$1)

I then decided I preferred comparing the cell values to M2, so I went to M3
and changed the conditional format to:

=AND(M3<"",M3<$M$2)

Again, I did a 'Format Paint' of M3 to M4-M20.

Now if I look at the conditional format formula(s) in cell M20, they reads
as follows:

=AND(M4<"",M4<$M$1) as one rule, and
=AND(M4<"",M4<$M$2) as an additional rule

Can anyone explain to me why the Excel 2007 way of handling this is better
than the Excel 2003? I don't want two rules in M20. I don't need any
reference in M20 to cell M4 - there really is no connection between the two
cells. Is there any logical reasoning behind this warped way of handling
conditional formatting?

--
Bill @ UAMS