# Ranking One common use of conditional formatting is to highlight the top/bottom N ranked items in a report, which can help to quickly identify the most important or relevant items in the data. Refer to [create rule](https://docs.inforiver.com/working-with-inforiver/5.-conditional-formatting/create-rule-writeback-matrix) to get started. Once the rule is created and you can see the **Conditional Formatting** side panel, follow the steps below. Choose **Ranking** in the **Format by** dropdown. You can see the options shown in the image below. Using the **Style** section, you can format text based on color/style, apply a background color, or select icons. **STEP 1:** Let's apply icon-based formatting to the Top 3 subcategories based on 2025 Actuals. Update the highlighted properties as shown below and click Apply.

**STEP 2:** The top 3 categories based on 2025 Actuals show an icon on the left, as shown below.

Conditional formatting applied based on Top N ranking

**STEP 3:** You can also apply ranking based on percentages. In the image below, the bottom 50% of subcategories based on 2025 Actuals are highlighted in red.

Conditional formatting for bottom 50% of categories

**STEP 4:** You can apply conditional formatting for the top and bottom items using the **Both** option. In the image below, conditional formatting has been applied for the top and bottom categories.