format single cell in multi-column doc
 

i need to format (e.g. change the background fill color) of a single cell, not the entire row, not the entire column, just the cell, in a spreadsheet type outline. can i do that?

You can do that on a per cell basis as long as there's content in the cell. Just select all the text in the cell and apply a background. When in edit mode of the cell, the background will only appear on the text but once you leave edit mode it will fill the whole cell.

thanks! i actually finally figured it out after i kept messing around, but its good to know that i figured out the right way.