When you alter the format of a number, you can select from several standard formats, as well as a custom format. The custom format allows you to enter a format string that Tableau will use to format the number. Your format string may use combinations of hash/pound (#), commas, negative signs, and parentheses, along with a literal string enclosed in quotation marks to indicate how the number should display.

The format string allows for up to three entries, separated by semi-colons to represent positive, negative, and zero formats.

Here are some examples, assuming the positive number is 34,331.336 and the negative number is -8,156.7777:

Notice how Tableau rounds the display of the number based on the format string. Always be aware that numbers you see as text, labels, or headers may have been rounded due to the format.

Also observe how you can mix format characters such as the pound sign, commas, and decimal points with strings. The fourth example shown would give a label of same where a value of zero would normally have been displayed.

Finally, notice that the last example uses Unicode characters that give you a wide range of possibilities, such as displaying degrees or other units of measure. Unicode characters may be used throughout Tableau in text boxes, titles, field names and labels, aliases, and more!