# Color, size and shape on the Marks card

*Tableau Desktop Foundations Study Guide · Sharing Insights · Last updated October 29, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/tableau-desktop-foundations/sharing-insights/color-size-and-shape-on-the-marks-card*

How the Color, Size and Shape buttons on the Marks card either restyle every mark or encode a field: one fixed color versus a palette, Edit Colors options such as Stepped Color, the Size slider versus a field on Size, shape palettes and custom shapes.

- Certification: Salesforce Tableau Desktop Foundations
- Exam section: Sharing Insights
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/tableau-desktop-foundations

**Official exam objective:**

> Format view for presentation: Use color from the marks card; Configure fonts; Format marks as shapes; Configure viz animations; Change size of marks; Show and hide legends.

## What the exam expects

- Give every mark one fixed color from the Color button, or encode a field on Color, and tell which of the two a requirement needs.
- Change colors with Edit Colors: pick a categorical palette for unordered members, and use Stepped Color, Reversed or Use Full Color Range on a continuous field.
- Resize marks with the Size slider without encoding data, and decide when a field on Size helps or misleads.
- Show a dimension's members as different symbols with Shape, change shape palettes, and add custom shapes that travel with the workbook.

Key terms:
- **Categorical palette:** distinct colors for a discrete field whose values have no inherent order.
- **Quantitative palette:** a continuous color range for a continuous field, either sequential (one range) or diverging (two ranges).
- **Stepped Color:** an Edit Colors option that groups a continuous field's values into a set number of uniform bins, one color per bin.
- **Custom shapes:** your own image files, placed in a folder under My Tableau Repository\Shapes, that appear as a shape palette.

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Default mark color | Blue for most marks, black for text, even with no field on Color | [Color palettes](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/viewparts_marks_markproperties_color.htm) |
| Continuous field with negative and positive values | Diverging palette by default; one-sign values get sequential | [Color palettes](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/viewparts_marks_markproperties_color.htm) |
| Stepped Color | Uniform bins, number set with the spin control | [Color palettes](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/viewparts_marks_markproperties_color.htm) |
| Custom palettes in 2022.3 | Edit Preferences.tps; built-in dialog only from 2025.3 | [Custom palettes](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/formatting_create_custom_colors.htm) |
| Size slider on bars | Wider or narrower bars; polygons cannot be resized | [Mark appearance](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/viewparts_marks_markproperties.htm) |
| Discrete field on Size | Separates marks like Detail; best for ordered data such as years | [Mark appearance](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/viewparts_marks_markproperties.htm) |
| Default shapes | Ten unique shapes; they repeat after 10 members | [Mark appearance](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/viewparts_marks_markproperties.htm) |
| Custom shape location | New folder in My Tableau Repository\Shapes; folder name = palette name | [Mark appearance](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/viewparts_marks_markproperties.htm) |
| Custom shape formats | .png, .gif, .jpg, .bmp, .tiff; not .emf | [Mark appearance](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/viewparts_marks_markproperties.htm) |

## Check yourself

- Why does a field with only positive values get one color range instead of two?
- When would you click Reset in the Edit Colors dialog?
- Why can the Size slider not help a map built from polygon marks?
- What does a transparent background (GIF or PNG) change for a color-encoded custom shape?

## Sources

- [Control the Appearance of Marks in the View](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/viewparts_marks_markproperties.htm)
- [Color Palettes and Effects](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/viewparts_marks_markproperties_color.htm)
- [Create Custom Color Palettes](https://help.tableau.com/current/pro/desktop/en-us/formatting_create_custom_colors.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 Desktop Foundations pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams