What is a format pane in Tableau?

The Format pane is the panel that opens on the left when you choose Format from the menu or right-click something and select Format. It controls how the view looks rather than what it shows.

It works in three scopes, shown as tabs: Sheet, Rows and Columns. Within each, you set fonts, alignment, shading, borders and lines — and settings cascade, so a change at sheet level applies unless overridden lower down.

You can also format a single field by right-clicking its pill, which is how you set number formats, currency and decimal places on a measure.

The Clear button at the bottom resets whatever level you are on, which is quicker than undoing a series of experiments.