The default tooltip in Power BI only displays the numbers from the data point that the cursor is pointing to. If report readers need to see trends, details, or comparisons while hovering, Power BI provides report page-based tooltips: a small page containing visuals that appears as a floating box and is filtered by the pointed data point.
When to Use Page Tooltips
Microsoft documentation mentions three main uses:
- Alternative perspectives: the same data displayed with different visual types, for example, monthly trends over a full year behind a single month's value.
- Additional details: attributes and statistics for the pointed item.
- Help: brief explanations that appear from an icon in the visual header.
Steps to Create It
- Add a new page to the report, then open Format > Canvas settings and select the page size Tooltip. The default size is 320 × 240 pixels.
- Change the view to Actual size (in Desktop: tab View > Page view > Actual size) so that the size while designing matches what the reader sees.
- Name the page in the Page information card. This name will later be selected in the visual.
- Arrange the visuals, for example, two card visuals and one bar chart.
- Enable the tooltip setting in Page information. In the latest documentation, it appears as a Tooltip toggle; in other guides, it is referred to as Allow use as tooltip.
- Drag columns or measures into Tooltip fields on the Visualizations panel.
Microsoft notes that the tooltip page must contain visuals, be marked as a tooltip, and have entries in Tooltip fields. If any of these are missing, the tooltip may appear empty.
Connecting to Visuals
Automatically, the tooltip page replaces the default tooltip for visuals that use the same columns as Tooltip fields. To set it manually, select the visual, open Format visual > General > Tooltips > Options, change Type to Report page, and then select the page from the Page list. Choose Auto to revert to the original behavior. If no tooltip page is available, the visual will revert to using the default tooltip.
How Filtering Works
The tooltip is filtered by the data point under the cursor. That's why the tooltip page in January displays January's figures. Here are some behaviors to be aware of:
| Situation | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Line chart | One tooltip for all lines; the legend does not filter it, so the total of all series at that point is displayed |
| Cross-highlighting | The tooltip displays the highlighted data portion |
| Column summary | The tooltip appears only if the column summary (e.g., sum or average) matches |
Limitations to Consider
- Tooltips are not interactive: you cannot select slicers, navigate with the Tab key, or scroll. All content must be visible without scrolling. For interactive filtering, use drillthrough pages.
- Python and R visuals do not appear in report tooltips.
- Dashboards in Power BI service do not support report page tooltips.
- Screen readers cannot read the contents of tooltips.
- Tables and matrices do not have a Tooltip well for default tooltips.
Best Practices
Microsoft recommends that tooltip pages be hidden so that readers do not open them directly, made small so they do not cover the main page, and styled similarly to the report. Filters applied for preview while designing should be removed before publishing the report.
If you prefer to see the explanation directly, there is a clip available.
Sources
- Microsoft Learn, Create report tooltips in Power BI.
- Microsoft Learn, Extend visuals with report page tooltips.
- Microsoft Learn, Customizing tooltips in Power BI Desktop.