Thanks to the linked cell property in Microsoft Excel, it's super easy to use the selected value as a condition in a macro or conditional formatting rule.

A practical way of formatting sales reports in Excel involves working in progressively larger units. Use the Home tab's controls to format on the character level.

Excel for the web now supports conditional formatting, and the interface is easier to use than the desktop edition. Susan Harkins shows you how to use it.

Improve data formatting and function usage with shortcuts like Control + 1 for cell formatting, Alt + = for AutoSum, and Control + Shift + $/% for currency/percentage formatting.

As you can see, it's not hard to use conditional formatting to get over what is blocking you from completing a task in Excel. 6 Times Excel's Conditional Formatting Saved My Sanity ...

Excels auto-formatting has a mind of its own, but you can take back control with a few simple tweaks.