You can use conditional formatting in Excel to highlight cells containing specific text characters at the beginning or end. Here's how:

1. Select the cell range you want to format.

2. Apply Conditional Formatting:

* Go to the "Home" tab.
* In the "Styles" group, click on "Conditional Formatting."
* A dropdown menu will appear.

3. Highlight Based on Text Rules:

There are two main approaches depending on whether you want to highlight cells with text at the beginning or end:

* For text at the beginning: Choose "Highlight Cells Rules" > "Text that begins with..."
* For text at the end: Choose "Highlight Cells Rules" > "Text that ends with..."

4. Enter the Text Criteria:

In the new window that appears, enter the specific text characters you want to highlight in the "Format cells that contain text" box.

5. Set Formatting (Optional):

Click on the "Format" button to choose how you want to highlight the matching cells. You can change font color, fill color, cell borders, etc.

6. Click OK:

Click "OK" to apply the conditional formatting rule.

Bonus Tip:

* You can use wildcards like "*" to match any sequence of characters. For example, "*ing" would highlight cells that start with any word ending in "ing" (e.g., "running", "singing").

By following these steps, you can easily highlight cells containing specific text at the beginning or end, making it easier to identify the data you need within your spreadsheet.