Custom tooltips in Power BI are powerful features that allow you to enhance the user experience by providing additional context and information when users hover over visual elements. Instead of displaying only basic data points, custom tooltips can show related visuals, images, or detailed breakdow…Custom tooltips in Power BI are powerful features that allow you to enhance the user experience by providing additional context and information when users hover over visual elements. Instead of displaying only basic data points, custom tooltips can show related visuals, images, or detailed breakdowns.
To create custom tooltips, you first need to design a dedicated report page that will serve as your tooltip. Navigate to the Format pane for the new page and enable the 'Allow use as tooltip' option under Page information. You should also set the page size to 'Tooltip' under Canvas settings, which optimizes the dimensions for tooltip display.
On this tooltip page, you can add various visual elements such as cards, charts, images, or text boxes. Keep the design compact and focused since tooltips appear in a small overlay window. Include relevant measures and dimensions that provide meaningful insights related to the main visual.
Once your tooltip page is ready, return to your main report page and select the visual you want to enhance. In the Format pane, locate the Tooltip section and change the Type from 'Default' to 'Report page'. Then select your custom tooltip page from the dropdown menu.
For dynamic tooltips, ensure that the tooltip page uses the same filters and context as the main visual. This allows the tooltip content to update based on which data point the user hovers over, creating an interactive experience.
Best practices include keeping tooltip pages simple and quick to load, using consistent formatting with your report theme, and including only the most relevant supplementary information. Avoid overcrowding the tooltip with too many visuals or excessive text.
Custom tooltips are particularly useful for showing trend analysis, comparing metrics, displaying related KPIs, or providing drill-down details that help users understand data relationships more effectively within your Power BI reports.
Create Custom Tooltips in Power BI
Why Custom Tooltips Are Important
Custom tooltips in Power BI allow you to provide additional context and insights when users hover over data points in visualizations. Instead of showing only basic information like values and categories, custom tooltips can display rich, detailed information including entire report pages with multiple visuals, KPIs, and supplementary data. This enhances the user experience and enables deeper data exploration within a compact space.
What Are Custom Tooltips?
Custom tooltips are specialized report pages that appear when a user hovers over a visual element. They replace the default tooltip behavior with a mini-report that can contain: - Multiple visuals (charts, cards, tables) - Images and formatted text - KPIs and metrics related to the hovered data point - Contextual information filtered by the selected data point
How Custom Tooltips Work
Step 1: Create a Tooltip Page - Add a new page to your report - In the Format pane, navigate to Page Information - Enable the Allow use as tooltip option - Set the Page type to Tooltip
Step 2: Configure Page Size - Tooltip pages have a default size of 320x240 pixels - You can customize dimensions in Canvas settings - Keep the size compact for optimal display
Step 3: Add Visuals to the Tooltip Page - Add relevant visuals that will show contextual information - These visuals will filter based on the data point being hovered
Step 4: Assign the Tooltip to a Visual - Select the target visual in your main report - Go to Format > Tooltips - Change Type from Auto to Report page - Select your custom tooltip page from the Page dropdown
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Create Custom Tooltips
1. Remember the key setting: The option to enable a page as a tooltip is called Allow use as tooltip found under Page Information in the Format pane.
2. Know the page type: When creating tooltip pages, you must set the Page type to Tooltip for proper sizing and behavior.
3. Understand filtering behavior: Custom tooltip pages automatically filter based on the data point the user hovers over. This is built-in functionality.
4. Default dimensions matter: The standard tooltip page size is 320x240 pixels. Questions may test your knowledge of this default.
5. Assignment method: To use a custom tooltip on a visual, you must change the Tooltip Type from Auto to Report page and then select the appropriate page.
6. Scope awareness: Custom tooltips work per visual - you assign them individually to each visual where you want them to appear.
7. Common scenario questions: Expect questions asking how to show additional metrics or details when hovering over chart elements. The answer typically involves creating a tooltip page.
8. Differentiate from default tooltips: Default tooltips show field values and can be customized by adding fields to the Tooltips field well. Custom tooltips are entire report pages with visuals.
9. Publication consideration: Custom tooltip pages are included when publishing to Power BI Service but do not appear in the page navigation.