Hi!

This is pretty tough and I couldn't figure out how to do it without the use
of a helper coulmn .....

Assume your values are in the range A1:A20.

In a helper column (I'll use column B) enter this formula with the key combo
of CTRL,SHIFT,ENTER in cell B2. Cell B1 MUST be empty:

=IF(ISERROR(MATCH(0,COUNTIF($B$1:B1,$A$1:$A$20),0) ),0,INDEX($A$1:$A$20,MATCH(0,COUNTIF($B$1:B1,$A$1: $A$20),0)))

Copy down to B21

This will extract the unique values from column A, A1:A20.

Now, you can base the cf on those extracted values.

Select the range A1:A20
Goto FormatConditional Formatting

Condition 1
Formula is: =A1=LARGE(B$2:B$21,1)
Select your desired format style

Click ADD

Condition 2
Formula is: =A1=LARGE(B$2:B$21,2)
Select your desired format style

Click ADD

Condition 3
Formula is: =A1=LARGE(B$2:B$21,3)
Select your desired format style

OK out

Also is there a limit on the length of a formula?

For a worksheet cell the max length is 1024 chars. For those formula boxes
in user forms like the one you will use for the cf, I think the length limit
is 255 chars.

Biff

"John" wrote in message
...
I'd like to highlight the 3 highest numbers in a column - a different
color
for each high number. I figured I'd use conditional formatting and LARGE,
but
there are duplicate numbers, which should all be highlighted.

Also is there a limit on the length of a formula?

Thanks!!!!