---
title: "Configuring a Formatting Rule"
slug: "configuring-a-formatting-rule"
updated: 2025-11-12T07:22:22Z
published: 2025-11-12T07:22:22Z
canonical: "documentation.encodify.com/configuring-a-formatting-rule"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.encodify.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Configuring a Formatting Rule

### Overview

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A **Formatting Rule** applies custom visual formatting to field values when they meet specific conditions, helping users quickly recognise important information. While the underlying data remains unchanged, formatting rules control how fields are displayed, for example, by adjusting colours, borders, or icons.

There are two types of Formatting Rules:

- **Full Cell**: Formatting is applied to the entire field cell, including text, background, borders, and optional icons.
- **Chip**: Formatting is applied only to the value “chip” or “bubble” within the cell. This formatting type supports status, single option, and multiple option fields.

Examples of Formatting Rules:

- Highlight the Status field in red when an item is marked as *Overdue*.
- Display a green chip when a field value equals *Approved*.
- Add a checkmark icon next to items with a *Completed* status.

By applying formatting rules, you can improve readability, emphasise critical data, and ensure that important item states are clearly visible at a glance.

## How to Create a Formatting Rule

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To configure a Formatting rule, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to**Automation Rules** (see [Automation Rules Overview](/v1/docs/automation-rules-overview) for more details)
2. Click the**Add Rule**button
3. Complete the **Basic Info** section:
  1. Enter a **Name** and, optionally, a **Description**.
  2. From the **Type** dropdown, select **Formatting**.
4. In the **Conditions**section, select a **Module.** If needed, specify **Filter Criteria**to configure the conditions that will trigger the rule.
5. Configure **Actions**:
  1. Select whether the formatting should apply when the condition is **Match** or **Do NOT Match**.
  2. Specify the **Target Fields** where the formatting should be applied. If no fields are specified, formatting will apply to the fields defined in the conditions.
  3. Define the formatting options:
    - **Format the Field(s)** – select the specific fields you want to format.
    - **Formatting Type** – choose either *Full Cell* or *Chip*.
    - **Border** – choose *Yes* or *No* to include a cell border (border colour will use the **Icon/Border** colour).
    - **Icon** – choose *Yes* or *No*. If *Yes*, select an icon from the [Material UI Icons library](https://mui.com/material-ui/material-icons/).
    - **Main Colour** – choose from the colour picker to define text colour.
    - **Icon/Border** - choose from the colour picker to define icon and border colour.
    - **Select Background Colour** – choose from the colour picker to define the background colour (for Full Cell or Chip).Select **“Match”** or **“Do NOT Match”** to determine how the rule is evaluated.
6. Click **Add an Action** to define additional formatting options for other fields. You can repeat this process to configure multiple formatting actions within the same rule.
7. Click **Save** to confirm your settings and create a rule.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/3a63e0a8-1221-4570-aaa1-d43f9b95a612/Images/Documentation/image(196).png)

## Formatting Rule Applied

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When a formatting rule is applied, the outcome depends on the selected type:

- **Full Cell** – The formatting is applied across the entire field cell, including text, background, borders, and any selected icon. This ensures the whole cell is visually highlighted according to the defined rule.
- **Chip** – The formatting is applied only to the value “chip” or “bubble” inside the cell. The background colour applies to the chip itself, while the rest of the cell remains transparent or white. Icons and borders are applied only to the chip.

![Screenshot_2022-03-08_113425.png](https://cdn.document360.io/3a63e0a8-1221-4570-aaa1-d43f9b95a612/Images/Documentation/4494850808733.png)

An image highlighting full cell formatting with chosen colours, border and icon

![Screenshot_2022-03-08_115326.png](https://cdn.document360.io/3a63e0a8-1221-4570-aaa1-d43f9b95a612/Images/Documentation/4495077712669.png)

An image highlighting chip formatting with chosen colours, borders and icon.

##