diff --git a/src/worksheet.c b/src/worksheet.c
index cb11b43a..c2ff3bb1 100644
--- a/src/worksheet.c
+++ b/src/worksheet.c
@@ -615,7 +615,7 @@ _write_formula_num_cell(lxw_worksheet *self, lxw_cell *cell)
 }
 
 /*
- *  Calculate the "spans" attribute of the <row> tag. This is an XLSX
+ * Calculate the "spans" attribute of the <row> tag. This is an XLSX
  * optimisation and isn't strictly required. However, it makes comparing
  * files easier.
  *
@@ -656,7 +656,7 @@ _calculate_spans(struct lxw_row *row, char *span, int32_t *block_num)
  * Write out a generic worksheet cell.
  */
 STATIC void
-_write_cell(lxw_worksheet *self, lxw_cell *cell)
+_write_cell(lxw_worksheet *self, lxw_cell *cell, lxw_format *row_format)
 {
     struct xml_attribute_list attributes;
     struct xml_attribute *attribute;
@@ -672,6 +672,11 @@ _write_cell(lxw_worksheet *self, lxw_cell *cell)
         if (index)
             _PUSH_ATTRIBUTES_INT("s", index);
     }
+    else if (row_format) {
+        int32_t index = _get_xf_index(row_format);
+        if (index)
+            _PUSH_ATTRIBUTES_INT("s", index);
+    }
 
     if (cell->type == STRING_CELL)
         _PUSH_ATTRIBUTES_STR("t", "s");
@@ -711,17 +716,22 @@ _write_rows(lxw_worksheet *self)
 
     TAILQ_FOREACH(row, self->table, list_pointers) {
 
-        if ((int32_t) row->row_num / 16 > block_num)
-            _calculate_spans(row, spans, &block_num);
+        if (TAILQ_EMPTY(row->cells)) {
+            /* Row data only. No cells. */
+            _write_row(self, row, NULL);
+        }
+        else {
+            /* Row and cell data. */
+            if ((int32_t) row->row_num / 16 > block_num)
+                _calculate_spans(row, spans, &block_num);
 
-        if (!TAILQ_EMPTY(row->cells)) {
             _write_row(self, row, spans);
 
             TAILQ_FOREACH(cell, row->cells, list_pointers) {
-                _write_cell(self, cell);
+                _write_cell(self, cell, row->format);
             }
+            _xml_end_tag(self->file, "row");
         }
-        _xml_end_tag(self->file, "row");
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/test/functional/src/test_row_col_format01.c b/test/functional/src/test_row_col_format01.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..988fd58d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/functional/src/test_row_col_format01.c
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/*****************************************************************************
+ * Test cases for libxlsxwriter.
+ *
+ * Simple test case to test worksheet set_row() and set_column().
+ *
+ * Copyright 2014, John McNamara, jmcnamara@cpan.org
+ *
+ */
+
+#include "xlsxwriter.h"
+
+int main() {
+
+    lxw_workbook  *workbook  = new_workbook("test_row_col_format01.xlsx");
+    lxw_worksheet *worksheet = workbook_add_worksheet(workbook, NULL);
+
+    lxw_format    *bold      = workbook_add_format(workbook);
+    format_set_bold(bold);
+
+    worksheet_set_row(worksheet, 0, 15, bold, NULL);
+
+    return workbook_close(workbook);
+}
diff --git a/test/functional/src/test_row_col_format02.c b/test/functional/src/test_row_col_format02.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7c50b3c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/functional/src/test_row_col_format02.c
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+/*****************************************************************************
+ * Test cases for libxlsxwriter.
+ *
+ * Simple test case to test worksheet set_row() and set_column().
+ *
+ * Copyright 2014, John McNamara, jmcnamara@cpan.org
+ *
+ */
+
+#include "xlsxwriter.h"
+
+int main() {
+
+    lxw_workbook  *workbook  = new_workbook("test_row_col_format02.xlsx");
+    lxw_worksheet *worksheet = workbook_add_worksheet(workbook, NULL);
+
+    lxw_format    *bold      = workbook_add_format(workbook);
+    format_set_bold(bold);
+
+    worksheet_set_row(worksheet, 0, 15, bold, NULL);
+
+    worksheet_write_string(worksheet, 0, 0, "Foo", NULL);
+
+    return workbook_close(workbook);
+}
diff --git a/test/functional/src/test_row_col_format03.c b/test/functional/src/test_row_col_format03.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9a391844
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/functional/src/test_row_col_format03.c
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/*****************************************************************************
+ * Test cases for libxlsxwriter.
+ *
+ * Simple test case to test worksheet set_row() and set_column().
+ *
+ * Copyright 2014, John McNamara, jmcnamara@cpan.org
+ *
+ */
+
+#include "xlsxwriter.h"
+
+int main() {
+
+    lxw_workbook  *workbook  = new_workbook("test_row_col_format03.xlsx");
+    lxw_worksheet *worksheet = workbook_add_worksheet(workbook, NULL);
+
+    lxw_format    *italic      = workbook_add_format(workbook);
+    format_set_italic(italic);
+
+    worksheet_set_column(worksheet, 0, 0, 8.43, italic, NULL);
+
+    return workbook_close(workbook);
+}
diff --git a/test/functional/test_row_col_format.py b/test/functional/test_row_col_format.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..04121b16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/functional/test_row_col_format.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+###############################################################################
+#
+# Tests for libxlsxwriter.
+#
+# Copyright (c), 2014, John McNamara, jmcnamara@cpan.org
+#
+
+import base_test_class
+
+class TestCompareXLSXFiles(base_test_class.XLSXBaseTest):
+    """
+    Test file created with libxlsxwriter against a file created by Excel.
+
+    """
+
+    def test_row_colformat01(self):
+        self.run_exe_test('test_row_col_format01')
+
+    def test_row_colformat02(self):
+        self.run_exe_test('test_row_col_format02')
+
+    # def test_row_colformat03(self):
+    #     self.run_exe_test('test_row_col_format03')
+
diff --git a/test/functional/xlsx_files/row_col_format01.xlsx b/test/functional/xlsx_files/row_col_format01.xlsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8ddfcb74
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/functional/xlsx_files/row_col_format01.xlsx differ
diff --git a/test/functional/xlsx_files/row_col_format02.xlsx b/test/functional/xlsx_files/row_col_format02.xlsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..906659c5
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/functional/xlsx_files/row_col_format02.xlsx differ
diff --git a/test/functional/xlsx_files/row_col_format03.xlsx b/test/functional/xlsx_files/row_col_format03.xlsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8b182a21
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/functional/xlsx_files/row_col_format03.xlsx differ