Thanks, Roger. Actually, that was the OP's formula, not mine. When I tried
your corrected formula (Excel 2003), it didn't work. This version seems to
work reliably for me:

=OR(IF(ISERROR(FIND($A$1,A1)),0,FIND($A$1,A1))0,I F(ISERROR(FIND("*",A1)),0,FIND("*",A1))0)

Hutch

"Roger Govier" wrote:

Hi Tom


Because the "*" is a wildcard, if you want to search for the "*" itself, you
need to prefix it with the tilde "~"
You also have the syntax for the OR function incorrect.
=OR(FIND($A$1,A1)0,FIND("~*",A1)0)

--
Regards
Roger Govier

"Calab" wrote in message
...

"Tom Hutchins" wrote in message
...
Assuming your dropdown list is in cell A1:
- select all cells
- select Conditional Formatting from the Format menu
- change 'Cell Value Is' to 'Formula Is'
- in the text box enter =(FIND($A$1,A1))0
- click the Format button
- select the options you want to highlight the cells
- click OK until all the dialogs are closed

If your dropdown list is in a different cell, change $A$1 to that cell
(keep
the dollar signs so it remains an absolute reference).

That works great... but I just discovered one more thing we need that I
can't figure out... I also need to check for a literal value as well.

=(FIND($A$1,A1))0 OR (FIND("*",A1))0

Which doesn't work.

: (