In this video, Angelica Choo Quan, a trainer at Pragmatic Works, walks through the process of creating custom tooltips in Power BI. Tooltips are an essential feature for enhancing visualizations, as they provide users with additional information when hovering over data points. This tutorial not only shows how to build a custom tooltip but also introduces the new "On Object Interaction" feature, which significantly improves visualization and report building in Power BI Desktop.
Enabling On Object Interaction Feature
- To begin, navigate to the "Options" menu in Power BI Desktop and enable the "On Object Interaction" feature.
- This feature enhances the visualizations pane and helps streamline the creation of custom tooltips.
- After enabling the feature, restart Power BI Desktop to see the new updates.
Creating a Custom Tooltip Page
- Create a new report page by selecting "Add New Page" and name it something like "Custom Tooltip."
- Right-click on the page, select "Format Canvas," and set the page type to "Tooltip" from the "Page Information" section. This will reduce the page size to a tooltip-friendly dimension.
- Connect the tooltip to specific data by selecting the field (e.g., "State") you want the tooltip to correspond with.
- You can further adjust the page size and appearance by expanding the "Canvas Settings" section.
Adding Visuals to the Tooltip
- Right-click on the report canvas to add visuals, such as maps, stacked column charts, and card visuals.
- Select the type of visual you want to use, and add data to populate it. For example, a map visual could show failed bank data by state, while a card visual could display the total number of banks.
- Modify visual elements like the title and size to match your report layout. Angelica recommends removing unnecessary titles to avoid clutter.
Customizing Tooltip Visuals
- For the map visual, modify its title, resize, and ensure the visuals align with the rest of your tooltip design.
- Adjust the font sizes, colors, and background to fit the report’s aesthetic. For example, Angelica selects a purple background to match the report's color scheme.
- The card visual can also be customized in terms of font size and color to ensure consistency across visuals in the report.
Previewing the Custom Tooltip
Once you've created and customized your visuals, it's time to see the tooltip in action. Head back to the report summary page and hover over a data point to view the tooltip you just built. The custom tooltip now displays detailed information, such as the number of failed banks and a map highlighting the state in question.
Conclusion
Custom tooltips in Power BI can greatly enhance the interactivity and user experience of your reports. By using the new "On Object Interaction" feature, you can create tooltips that display detailed, context-specific information in a sleek and user-friendly format. This is a great way to provide additional data insights without overcrowding the main report visuals.
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