Q. Format Painter is a very handy tool for copying a format style from one place to another, but it seems to work with only one section at a time. Is there a way to get it to work like a rubber stamp ...

To extend your conditional formatting to a new part of the spreadsheet, a new worksheet or even a new workbook, Excel's "Format Painter" feature lets you easily copy conditional formatting.

Click the "Home" tab at the top of the Excel 2007 window. Click "Format Painter" in the Clipboard section at the top and the cursor changes to a paintbrush.