# Padding, banding and device-specific layouts

*Tableau Data Analyst Study Guide · Create Content · Last updated October 29, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/tableau-data-analyst/create-content/padding-banding-and-device-specific-layouts*

Choose inner or outer padding per side, band and shade rows or columns at the right header level, format grid and zero lines in Desktop or on the web, and keep Desktop, Tablet and Phone layouts in step with the Default dashboard.

- Certification: Salesforce Tableau Data Analyst
- Exam section: Create Content
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/tableau-data-analyst

**Official exam objective:**

> Format workbooks, worksheets, and dashboards: Apply color, font, shapes, styling; Add custom shapes and color palettes; Add annotations; Customize tooltips; Apply padding; Format gridlines, row-level and column-level bands, and shading; Create a responsive design for specific device layouts.

## What the exam expects

- Pick inner or outer padding, and per-side values, to fix a spacing problem on a dashboard item.
- Add row or column banding and shading at a chosen level of a nested table, and tell banding apart from row and column dividers.
- Turn on and style grid lines and zero lines in Tableau Desktop and in web authoring.
- Keep a Phone layout in sync with the Default dashboard or make it independent, and choose a device layout's Size option.

Color, fonts, shapes, custom palettes, annotations and tooltips are taught in Color, shapes, annotations and tooltips; dashboard size, containers and the Layout pane's position settings in Dashboard size, layout containers and floating items. Device layout basics, including which window size shows which layout, are in the Desktop Foundations unit Dashboard layouts, device layouts and stories.

Key terms:
- **Outer Padding:** space between dashboard objects.
- **Inner Padding:** space between an item's border and its visualization.
- **Banding:** shading that alternates from row to row or column to column.
- **Level:** the header level of a nested table that banding or a divider applies to.
- **Auto-Generate Layout:** a Phone layout that automatically reflects changes to the Default dashboard.

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Inner Padding | Between an item's border and its visualization | [Format Dashboard Objects](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/Formatting_Dashboard_Objects.htm) |
| Outer Padding | Between dashboard objects | [Format Dashboard Objects](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/Formatting_Dashboard_Objects.htm) |
| Per-side padding | Deselect All sides equal | [Format Dashboard Objects](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/Formatting_Dashboard_Objects.htm) |
| Corner Radius | Tableau 2026.1 and later only | [Format Dashboard Objects](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/Formatting_Dashboard_Objects.htm) |
| Banding options | Pane and Header color, Band Size, Level | [Format at the Worksheet Level](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/formatting_worksheet.htm) |
| Web grid lines | Format > Worksheet > Lines: on/off, type, thickness, color, opacity | [Format at the Worksheet Level](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/formatting_worksheet.htm) |
| Auto-Generate Layout | Phone layout reflects Default changes automatically | [Create Dashboard Layouts for Different Device Types](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/dashboards_dsd_create.htm) |
| Desktop and Tablet layouts | Added manually; always independent of Default | [Create Dashboard Layouts for Different Device Types](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/dashboards_dsd_create.htm) |
| Fit width | Width fits the frame, height fixed; recommended for phones | [Create Dashboard Layouts for Different Device Types](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/dashboards_dsd_create.htm) |

## Check yourself

- Why doesn't Optimize Layout bring new Default items into a manual Phone layout?
- What does the Band Size option set?
- How are pane and header dividers formatted on the web?
- When did Corner Radius arrive, relative to the release this exam tests?

## Sources

- [Format Dashboard Objects](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/Formatting_Dashboard_Objects.htm)
- [Format at the Worksheet Level](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/formatting_worksheet.htm)
- [Create Dashboard Layouts for Different Device Types](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/dashboards_dsd_create.htm)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 6 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Tableau Data Analyst pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams