Creating Rich Tooltip Pages

Report page tooltips are one of Power BI's most underutilized features. Instead of the default text-only tooltip that shows a value and category, tooltip pages display rich, multi-visual contextual detail when users hover over any data point. They transform simple charts into interactive exploration tools—revealing supporting metrics, trend sparklines, and related information without cluttering the main report page or requiring navigation to a detail page.

How Tooltip Pages Work

A tooltip page is a standard Power BI report page configured as a tooltip with a smaller canvas size (default 320x240 pixels). When assigned to a visual, the tooltip page appears as a popup when users hover over data points. Power BI automatically passes the filter context from the hovered data point to the tooltip page, so all visuals on the tooltip display data relevant to the specific item being hovered.

Example: A bar chart shows revenue by region. When the user hovers over "West Region," the tooltip page shows: a card with exact revenue value, a sparkline showing West's monthly trend, a small table of top 5 products in the West, and a YoY growth indicator. All filtered to "West" automatically.

Creating Tooltip Pages Step by Step

Step 1: Create the Page Add a new page to your report. In the Format pane, under Page information, set the page type to "Tooltip." This locks the page size and hides it from the main page navigation tabs.

Step 2: Configure Page Size The default tooltip size is 320x240 pixels—roughly the size of a large thumbnail. You can customize the size, but keep it compact. Oversized tooltips obscure the underlying report and frustrate users. Recommended maximum: 400x300 pixels.

Step 3: Design the Content Add visuals to the tooltip page just like any report page. Each visual filters automatically based on the hovered data point's context. Best content for tooltips:

| Visual Type | Purpose | Example | |---|---|---| | Card | Show the exact value | Revenue: $2.4M | | Sparkline (line chart) | Show trend over time | Monthly revenue trend | | KPI indicator | Show vs target | 105% of target | | Small table | Show related breakdown | Top 5 products | | Gauge | Show progress | 78% of annual goal | | Text box | Provide context | "West region includes CA, OR, WA, NV" |

Step 4: Assign to Visuals On the main report page, select a visual. In the Format pane, under Tooltips, change the type from "Default" to "Report page." Select your tooltip page from the dropdown. The tooltip now appears when hovering over any data point in that visual.

Design Best Practices

Keep Tooltips Focused A tooltip should answer one supporting question about the hovered data point. Do not try to build a mini-dashboard—3-4 small visuals maximum. If users need more detail, provide a drillthrough page instead.

Use Consistent Layout Create a template layout for all your tooltip pages: value card in the top-left, sparkline across the top, supporting metrics below. Consistency across tooltips means users instantly understand the layout without reorienting each time.

Minimize Visual Count Each visual on a tooltip page generates a query when the tooltip renders. Three visuals render in under 200 milliseconds. Eight visuals can take 2-3 seconds—an eternity when the user is just hovering. Target 3-4 visuals maximum.

Match Tooltip to Context Different visuals may benefit from different tooltip pages. A revenue-by-region chart shows regional detail. A revenue-by-product chart shows product detail. Create separate tooltip pages for different analytical contexts rather than one generic tooltip.

Test on Hover Speed Tooltips should render completely before the user moves their mouse to the next data point. Test with production data—if tooltips are slow, simplify the visuals or reduce the data scope.

Multiple Tooltip Pages

Create different tooltip pages for different visuals or even different data points within the same visual:

By Visual: Assign "Regional Detail" tooltip to the geography chart and "Product Detail" tooltip to the product chart. Each tooltip shows contextually relevant supporting information.

By Measure: Use conditional tooltip assignment with bookmarks. Show a financial tooltip for revenue visuals and an operational tooltip for volume visuals.

Advanced Techniques

Dynamic Content Use conditional formatting on tooltip visuals to change colors and indicators based on the hovered value. Show green backgrounds for above-target metrics and red for below-target. The tooltip becomes a visual indicator of performance status.

Images and Icons Include images in tooltips—product photos for a product chart, store photos for a location chart, or employee photos for a team performance chart. Use image URLs stored in your data model with the Image visual type.

Tooltip with Drillthrough Combine tooltips and drillthrough for a two-level detail pattern. The tooltip provides a quick preview on hover. If the user wants deeper analysis, they right-click and drill through to a full detail page. The tooltip serves as a preview that helps users decide whether to drill deeper.

Sparkline Tooltips Small line charts showing 12-month trends are the most valuable tooltip visual. They answer "is this value trending up or down?" without requiring the user to navigate to a separate trend page. Use the built-in sparkline visual or a standard line chart sized to fit the tooltip.

Performance Optimization

• Pre-aggregate data for tooltip visuals in Power Query rather than computing in real-time
• Avoid complex DAX measures in tooltip visuals—simple aggregations render faster
• Use Import mode datasets for tooltip sources when possible (faster than DirectQuery)
• Test tooltip rendering speed with 50+ data points being hovered rapidly
• If performance is unacceptable, fall back to rich default tooltips (custom tooltip fields) instead of full tooltip pages

Related Resources

• Power BI Report Design Principles
• Power BI Bookmarks
• Power BI Themes
• Power BI Training