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Visual tooltips in Power BI

APPLIES TO: Power BI Desktop Power BI service

Visual tooltips display contextual information when consumers hover over data points in a visual. They help consumers understand the data without leaving the report. This article describes how to add fields to a tooltip, format the tooltip in Power BI Desktop and the Power BI service, and use drill actions from the tooltip.

For an introduction to all tooltip types, see Tooltips overview. For richer hover content, see Create report page tooltips in Power BI.

Screenshot of a visual tooltip displaying field name and value, additional fields, and drill actions.

By default, the tooltip shows:

  • The field name and value for each field used in the visual.
  • Additional fields that you add in the Tooltip field well.
  • Optional actions, such as Drill down, Drill up, and Drill through, when the visual supports them.

Add fields to the Tooltip field well

Use the Tooltip field well to show extra data points in the tooltip without changing the visual itself.

  1. Select the visual you want to customize.

  2. In the Build visual pane, drag a field into the Tooltip field well. You can add multiple fields.

    Screenshot of the Build visual pane showing three fields added to the Tooltip field well.

  3. Hover over a data point on the visual to see the values for the fields you added.

    Screenshot of a custom tooltip displaying multiple field values when hovering over a data point.

Apply aggregation functions

Apply aggregation functions to the fields in the Tooltip field well to show summarized values.

  1. In the Tooltip field well, select the arrow beside the field you want to aggregate.

  2. Select an aggregation, such as Sum, Average, or Count.

    Screenshot of the Tooltip field well showing the dropdown menu for selecting aggregation functions.

You can also use quick measures to create common calculations to add to your tooltip.

Show only the fields you add

By default, a tooltip shows every field used in the visual plus any fields you add to the Tooltip field well. To show only the fields you explicitly add to the Tooltip field well, turn on Tooltip fields only.

  1. Select the visual, and then select the Format visual icon in the Visualizations pane.
  2. Select the General tab and expand Tooltips.
  3. Expand Options and turn on Tooltip fields only.

With Tooltip fields only off (the default), the tooltip shows the visual's fields and the tooltip fields together. With it on, the tooltip shows only the fields in the Tooltip field well.

Use sentence format

Sentence format lets you structure tooltip values as a sentence about the data point, instead of a list of field names and values. You write a template that combines plain text with field references, and Power BI replaces each reference with the value for the hovered data point.

To set up sentence format:

  1. Select the visual, and then select the Format visual icon in the Visualizations pane.
  2. Select the General tab and expand Tooltips.
  3. Expand Options and turn on Sentence format only.
  4. In the Sentence template box, enter the text and field references for your sentence.
  5. Optionally, turn on Bold values to emphasize the field values in the rendered sentence.

Reference fields in a template

Reference any field that's available to the tooltip by wrapping its visual name in curly braces, such as {Sales}. Power BI replaces the reference with the value for the data point the consumer hovers over. If you reference a name that isn't available, Power BI renders the text exactly as typed, without substitution.

For example, this template:

{Segment} sales changed by {Sales YoY} ({Sales YoY %}) from same period last year with a total of {Sales} across all years.

renders as a sentence like:

Small Business sales changed by $3,701,592 (44%) from same period last year with a total of $42,427,919 across all years.

Reference field parameters

When you use field parameters, you can reference both the selected field's value and its name:

  • Use the field parameter's name in curly braces to show the name of the selected field, such as {Field parameter}.
  • Add Fields to the name to show the value of the selected field instead of its name, such as {Field parameter Fields}. This reference matches the Fields column name in the field parameter.

For example, this template:

We sold {Field parameter Fields} {Field parameter} in {Country}.

renders as a sentence like:

We sold 1,200 Units in Canada.

Configure tooltip settings

Tooltip formatting lives in the Format visual pane under General > Tooltips. Select a visual on the report canvas, and then select the Format visual icon in the Visualizations pane.

  • Tooltip visibility: Toggle the Tooltips card on or off to show or hide tooltips for the visual.
  • Text: Set the Font, Label color, Value color, and Drill text and icon color.
  • Background: Set the Color and Transparency.
  • Actions: Turn on or off the actions footer, which exposes drill behavior in supported visuals.

Options

The Options section of the Tooltips card controls the tooltip type and content:

  • Type: Choose Default to use the standard tooltip, or Report page to use a report page tooltip.

    Note

    If you select Report page but no report page tooltip is available, the visual uses the default tooltip.

  • Tooltip fields only: Turn on to show only the fields you add to the Tooltip field well. When off, the tooltip shows the visual's fields and the tooltip fields together.

  • Chart-specific tooltips: Turn on to show tooltip content that's specific to the chart type, such as the percentage of the first and previous values in a funnel chart.

  • Sentence format only: Turn on to render the tooltip as a sentence from a template instead of a list of fields.

  • Sentence template: Enter the text and field references for the sentence. Reference any available field by wrapping its visual name in curly braces, such as {Sales}.

  • Bold values: Turn on to emphasize the field values in the rendered sentence.

Use drill actions in the tooltip

When you turn on the Actions footer, supported visuals show drill controls in the tooltip:

  • Drill down: Goes to the next level in a hierarchy.
  • Drill up: Returns to the previous hierarchy level.
  • Drill through: Opens a drillthrough page filtered to that data point.

Using drill actions from the tooltip means consumers don't need to use right-click menus or header icons.

Style tooltips by using a report theme

Tooltips inherit colors from the report theme so the experience stays consistent across visuals.

To adjust tooltip styling for the entire report:

  1. In Power BI Desktop, select the View tab.

  2. Select Customize current theme > Visuals.

  3. Select Tooltip to set the Label text color, Value text color, Drill text and icon color, and Background color.

    Screenshot of Tooltip styling options in the Customize current theme dialog.

Theme elements map to tooltip elements as follows:

  • Background color maps to the tooltip background.
  • Text and icon color maps to first-level text and icons.
  • Separator and hover color maps to secondary background elements.

To override the theme for a single visual, use General > Tooltips in the Format visual pane.

Enable tooltip autoscale

Tooltip autoscale resizes tooltips based on the canvas size so they look right on different screen sizes.

  1. Select File > Options and settings > Options.

  2. Under Current file, select Report settings.

  3. Select Tooltip size is affected by canvas size.

    Screenshot showing Tooltip size is affected by canvas size checkbox in Power BI Desktop.

Troubleshoot tooltip problems

  • Tooltip doesn't appear: The visual might not support standard tooltips, or the Tooltips toggle might be off. Visuals that support the full tooltip experience, including a Tooltip field well, include bar and column charts, line and area charts, treemaps, scatter and bubble charts, pie and donut charts, and ribbon, funnel, and waterfall charts.
  • Report page tooltip doesn't appear: Confirm the page has Allow use as tooltip turned on, and that the visual's Tooltip type is set to Report page. For more information, see Create report page tooltips.
  • Actions footer is missing: Only visuals with drillable hierarchies or a drillthrough mapping show the actions footer.
  • Can't add fields to the Tooltip well: Tables, matrices, and some other visuals don't expose a Tooltip field in the Build visual pane.
  • Tooltip text is too small: Too many fields force the font to shrink. Reduce the number of fields for better readability.

Considerations and limitations

  • Default tooltips aren't designed to hold large amounts of content. For more control, use a report page tooltip.
  • Tooltip styling and the actions footer might differ for some visual types:
    • Key influencers show their own explanation panels instead of standard tooltips.
    • Tables and matrices show the cell value on hover. Tooltip formatting options are available, but these visuals don't expose a Tooltip field well.
    • Decomposition trees, report page tooltips, and AppSource custom visuals show standard tooltips where supported but don't expose the actions footer.
  • Existing reports keep their original tooltip appearance and actions footer state. Power BI might prompt you to upgrade older reports to modern tooltip defaults.
  • You can turn off tooltips for a visual in a Power BI report. However, when you pin that visual to a dashboard, the basic tooltip still appears.

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