What is a Tooltip in Power BI?
Tooltip in Power BI is a little pop-up that provides an added layer of information to your data visualizations. When you hover over a visual or a specific data point within a visual, a small box, referred to as a tooltip, appears. This box contains additional details or context about the data point you’re hovering over.
Power BI automatically generates tooltips based on the data fields that are part of the visual. Let’s say when you hover over a data bar in the bar chart it shows you the data value and the name of the category.
The information displayed in the tooltip is customizable and you can change the look of the tooltip as well.
Adding More Data to the Tooltips
- Click on the visual you want to add more data to its tooltip. In the “Add data to your visual” pane, locate the “Tooltips” area. It’s usually at the bottom of the pane.
- You can drag additional fields from your dataset that you want to display in the tooltip and drop them into the Tooltip section. Alternatively, you can check the box next to a field’s name to add it directly to the tooltip.
Customizing Default Tooltips
- On/Off Toggle: You can turn the tooltip feature on or off. Turning it off means no tooltip will appear when users hover over the visual’s data point.
- Background Color: Change the tooltip’s background color to match your report’s theme or make the tooltip stand out.
- Font Color: Adjust the color of the text within the tooltip for better readability or to align with your visual design.
- Transparency: Modify how transparent the tooltip background is to achieve the desired look and feel.
Add a Chart in Tooltip in Power BI
Power BI allows you to use Visuals as a tool tip providing users with additional context or detailed analysis related to a specific data point. Here’s how you can add a chart to a tooltip in Power BI:
- Add a New Page: In Power BI, add a new page to your report by clicking the “+” icon at the bottom of the report view. And then rename it with the name you want. In our case, we have used the name “ToolTip”.
- Change the Page Size: Select the newly added page, go to the Format pane, and then to the “Canvas settings” section. Choose Tooltip from the drop-down. This action sets the page size to a tooltip-friendly format.
- Add a Chart – Add a chart or visual you want to appear in the tooltip. Since space is limited, it’s best to design a simple and concise visual that conveys information effectively.
- Add data to the Chart: Just like on a regular chart, drag fields onto the Values, Axis, Legend, or Tooltips areas of the visualization pane to create your chart. Adjust the chart’s design and formatting to make it clear and easy to read.
- Assign the Tooltip Page to a Visual: Go back to the main report page and select the visual to which you want to add the custom tooltip. In the Visualizations pane, go to the Format pane > General, and then by scrolling down, click on the “Tooltip. After that, open the “Options”. In the Type drop-down select “Report page” and in the “Page” drop down select the tooltip page we have just created which is “ToolTip”.
Now, when you hover over any data bars in the bar chart, you will see a further line chart showing the sales timeline. In our example, when you hover over the bar of “Chicago”, it shows you a line chart for the amount for the years-wise months.
Tips for using Tooltips in Power BI
- Be Selective: While adding much information to tooltips is possible, it’s important to be selective and only include data that adds value or context.
- Right Formatting: Ensure the data fields added to the tooltip are formatted for easy reading. For example, currency fields should have the currency symbol, and large numbers should be formatted with commas or as thousands (K) or millions (M).
- Customize Tooltip Appearance: While the default tooltips can be informative, customizing the appearance of tooltips to match your report’s theme enhances your report’s overall look and feel.