Tooltips

Native interaction

Hover context: target, actual, difference and last updated — without adding a column.

Working example

Anna Visser	Operations	95%
Bram Vos	Operations	81%
Carla Jansen	Operations	78%
Daan Mulder	Operations	93%
Eva Dekker	Operations	82%
Femke Smit	Operations	94%
Gijs Peters	Operations	96%

Tooltip

Hover or focus a row.

UX recommendation

Use a tooltip when a value is looked up occasionally; add a column when the value must be compared across rows. Tooltips do not exist on touch devices.

What it is

Default tooltips show the visual's values; extra measures can be added, or a report page can be used as a rich tooltip.

When to use it

Secondary context that supports but does not drive comparison.

Native Power BI capability

Yes — Tooltip field well and report-page tooltips (fixed canvas size).

UX considerations

Prefer a tooltip when the value is looked up occasionally, a column when it is compared across rows.
Tooltips are unavailable on touch devices — never hide essential information there.
Keep report-page tooltips small and typographically calm.

BI developer considerations

Add measures to the Tooltips well.
Report page tooltips need Page information ▸ Allow use as tooltip.

QA considerations

Tooltip values respect the current filter context.
No essential data exists only in a tooltip.

Limitations

Not reachable by keyboard in all clients.
Report-page tooltips have a fixed canvas size.

HTML prototype note

This interactive HTML example simulates the native Power BI behaviour. It is not Power BI itself and should not be interpreted as an implementation of the Power BI rendering engine.

Designer ↔ BI developer handoff

UX designer defines

Information hierarchy and column order
Required fields and measures
Default state (sort, filters, selection)
Interaction intent and what it should affect
Responsive priority and what may be dropped
Accessibility expectations and focus order
Empty, loading and error states

BI developer implements

Dataset fields, measures and relationships
Visual configuration in the format pane
Filters, sort order and interaction wiring
Drill-through / drill-down configuration
Conditional formatting rules
Row-level security and permissions
Query performance optimisation

QA validates

Data correctness against the source
Correct default state on first load
Sorting and filtering behaviour
Drill and selection behaviour
Permissions and row-level security
Empty states and responsive layout
Performance and export behaviour