after installing power bi desktop, format pane and other menus are not available

Question

after installing power bi desktop, format pane and other menus are not available

Peter Hefler 0

after installing power bi desktop, format pane and other menus are not available. I have uninstalled and re-installed the application multiple times on my laptop but problem remains. The power bi desktop version that I have installed on my laptop is: 2.158.11.77.0.

Stefan Blom 353.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-10-05T20:07:45.35+00:00

You may want to ask in the dedicated Power BI forums at https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/category/powerbi .

1 answer

Your answer

Stefan Blom 353.8K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-10-05T20:07:45.35+00:00

You may want to ask in the dedicated Power BI forums at https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/category/powerbi .

Answer 1

Jay1 Tran 1,700 Independent Advisor

Hi Peter,

Thank you for reaching out.

The missing Format pane and menus may be related to the On-object interaction interface or saved pane settings in your Power BI Desktop user profile. Since these settings can remain after reinstalling the application, please try the following steps in order:

Disable On-object interaction

This is the most likely solution:

Open Power BI Desktop.
Go to File > Options and settings > Options.
Select Preview features in the left pane.
Clear the checkbox next to On-object interaction.

Screenshot showing turning on preview feature.

Select OK.
Close and restart Power BI Desktop.
After restarting, check whether the traditional Data, Visualizations, and Format panes appear on the right side.

Reset the Power BI Desktop user settings

If the issue continues, the local user settings may be corrupted:

Close Power BI Desktop completely.
Press Windows key + R.
Enter the following path and press Enter: %localappdata%\Microsoft\Power BI Desktop\

User's image

Look for User.zip or a similarly named user-settings file.
If it is present, rename it to: User_old.zip
Reopen Power BI Desktop. The application should create a new default settings file.

Repair Power BI Desktop

If resetting the settings does not resolve the issue:

Open Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
Find Microsoft Power BI Desktop.
Select Advanced options > Repair.

User's image

Follow the prompts to repair the application.
Restart the laptop and test Power BI Desktop again.

I hope your issue gets resolved soon. Any updates would be greatly appreciated.

Peter Hefler 0 Reputation points

2026-10-05T18:49:22.4366667+00:00

Hello Jay1 - thanks for your reply and possible solutions. I went through all solutions provided --- unfortunately, the problem remains ;-(

Pete
Jay1 Tran 1,700 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-10-05T22:13:56.95+00:00

Hi Peter,

Thank you for your response.

If the issue persists after trying these steps, I recommend posting your question in the Power BI forums | Microsoft Fabric Community. In this forum, you'll get the most qualified group of respondents and other partners who read the forums regularly can share their knowledge or learn from your interaction.

I apologize for redirecting you to a different community, as the members of this category focus on Office 365 concerns and have limited knowledge about Power BI. To help you get quicker and better assistance, I am guiding you to the appropriate resource.

Thank you once again for your precious time and engagement.
Peter Hefler 0 Reputation points

2026-10-06T20:56:54.85+00:00

Hi Jay1 --- I will post my question to the PowerBI Forum site as you suggest. thank you for your help and time --- it's very much appreciated! Thanks Pete