How to Use Tooltip in Power BI: Simple Guide
In Power BI, you can use
tooltips to show extra information when users hover over visuals. You add tooltips by enabling the Tooltip option in the visual's format pane or by creating a dedicated tooltip page and linking it to visuals.Syntax
Tooltips in Power BI are configured through the visual's formatting options or by creating a tooltip report page. Key parts include:
- Tooltip toggle: Turns tooltip display on or off for a visual.
- Tooltip page: A special report page designed to show detailed info when hovering.
- Fields: Data fields added to the tooltip area to show dynamic info.
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1. Select a visual. 2. Go to Format pane > Tooltip > Toggle On. 3. Add fields to Tooltip bucket in Fields pane. --OR-- 1. Create a new report page. 2. In Page Information, turn on Tooltip. 3. Design the tooltip visual. 4. On main visual, set Tooltip > Type to Report page and select your tooltip page.
Example
This example shows how to create a simple tooltip that displays extra sales details when hovering over a bar chart.
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1. Create a bar chart showing total sales by product category. 2. In the Fields pane, drag "Sales Amount" and "Order Count" into the Tooltip field well of the bar chart. 3. In Format pane, ensure Tooltip is toggled On. 4. Hover over any bar to see sales amount and order count as a tooltip.
Output
When hovering over a bar for 'Bikes', a small popup shows:
- Sales Amount: $1,200,000
- Order Count: 350
Common Pitfalls
Common mistakes when using tooltips in Power BI include:
- Not toggling Tooltip On in the Format pane, so no tooltip appears.
- Adding fields to the visual but not to the Tooltip bucket, so tooltip lacks data.
- Creating a tooltip page but forgetting to set the main visual's Tooltip type to that page.
- Using too much data in tooltips, causing clutter and slow loading.
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Wrong:
- Tooltip toggle is Off.
- Fields added only to visual, not Tooltip bucket.
Right:
- Tooltip toggle is On.
- Fields added to Tooltip bucket.
- Tooltip page linked if using custom tooltip page.Quick Reference
| Step | Action | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Select visual | Choose the visual to add tooltip to |
| 2 | Enable Tooltip | Format pane > Tooltip > Toggle On |
| 3 | Add fields | Drag fields to Tooltip bucket for dynamic info |
| 4 | Create tooltip page (optional) | New page > Page info > Tooltip On |
| 5 | Link tooltip page | Visual > Tooltip > Type: Report page > Select page |
Key Takeaways
Enable Tooltip toggle in the Format pane to activate tooltips on visuals.
Add fields to the Tooltip bucket to show extra data on hover.
Create a dedicated tooltip page for rich, custom tooltip visuals.
Link tooltip pages properly by setting the visual's Tooltip type to Report page.
Keep tooltips simple to avoid clutter and improve report performance.