Business Intelligence, Microsoft Certification, PL-300, Power BI

Create Custom Tooltips (PL-300 Exam Prep)

 
This post is a part of the PL-300: Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Exam Prep Hub; and this topic falls under these sections:
Visualize and analyze the data (25–30%)
   --> Enhance reports for usability and storytelling
      --> Create Custom Tooltips

Note that there are 10 practice questions (with answers and explanations) at the end of each topic. Also, there are 2 practice tests with 60 questions each available on the hub below all the exam topics.

Overview

Custom tooltips in Power BI allow report authors to provide rich, contextual insights when users hover over visuals. For the PL-300 exam, this topic evaluates your understanding of why custom tooltips are useful, when to use them, and how they enhance report usability and storytelling.

Rather than cluttering a report page with extra visuals, custom tooltips deliver on-demand detail in a clean, intuitive way.

What Is a Custom Tooltip?

A custom tooltip is a specially designed report page that appears when a user hovers over a data point in a visual.

Unlike default tooltips, custom tooltips can include:

  • Multiple visuals
  • Charts and KPIs
  • Text and formatted measures
  • Context-aware filtering

Custom tooltips are created as dedicated report pages and then assigned to visuals.

Default Tooltips vs. Custom Tooltips

Understanding the difference is essential for the exam.

Default Tooltips

  • Automatically generated by Power BI
  • Display basic field values
  • Limited customization
  • Quick but minimal insight

Custom Tooltips

  • Built as report pages
  • Fully customizable layout
  • Can include multiple visuals
  • Provide deeper, contextual insight

If an exam question mentions rich hover details, additional context without clutter, or enhanced storytelling, custom tooltips are likely the correct answer.

How Custom Tooltips Work (Conceptually)

From a high-level perspective:

  1. A report page is designated as a tooltip page
  2. The page is sized appropriately for tooltip display
  3. The tooltip page inherits the filter context of the hovered data point
  4. The tooltip is assigned to one or more visuals

The PL-300 exam focuses on this concept, not the exact UI steps.

Common Use Cases for Custom Tooltips

Custom tooltips are especially useful when:

  • You want to show supporting metrics on hover
  • Additional context is needed without adding visuals to the page
  • Users need explanations for KPIs or anomalies
  • You want consistent hover behavior across visuals

Examples of Effective Custom Tooltips

Typical scenarios include:

  • Showing trend lines when hovering over a single data point
  • Displaying breakdowns (e.g., category, region) on hover
  • Providing definitions or explanations for metrics
  • Showing comparisons such as prior period values

On the exam, these scenarios often appear as design or usability problems.

Custom Tooltips and Filter Context

A critical concept tested in PL-300:

  • Custom tooltips respect the filter context of the visual
  • Slicers, filters, and row context are passed to the tooltip page
  • This makes tooltips dynamic and context-aware

If a question mentions context-sensitive hover behavior, it is pointing to custom tooltips.

Best Practices for Custom Tooltips

While not deeply technical, the exam expects awareness of good design practices:

  • Keep tooltips concise and focused
  • Avoid overcrowding with too many visuals
  • Use clear titles and labels
  • Ensure readability at small sizes
  • Reuse tooltip pages when appropriate

Limitations of Custom Tooltips

Understanding limitations helps eliminate incorrect answers.

  • Tooltips are view-only (no interaction)
  • Not all visuals support report page tooltips
  • They are not a replacement for drillthrough
  • Overuse can negatively impact performance or clarity

If a scenario requires navigation or deeper exploration, drillthrough is more appropriate.

Custom Tooltips vs. Drillthrough

This distinction is commonly tested.

Custom Tooltips

  • Hover-based
  • Lightweight detail
  • No navigation
  • Focused on context

Drillthrough

  • Click-based navigation
  • Deep analysis
  • Full report pages

Hover for insight → Custom tooltip
Click to explore → Drillthrough

PL-300 Exam Tip

Custom tooltips appear in exam questions framed around:

  • Reducing visual clutter
  • Providing additional insight on hover
  • Improving report usability
  • Enhancing storytelling without navigation

If those phrases appear, custom tooltips are almost always the correct choice.

Key Takeaways

  • Custom tooltips are report pages shown on hover
  • They provide rich, contextual insight
  • They improve usability without cluttering reports
  • They inherit filter context from visuals
  • PL-300 focuses on when and why to use them

Practice Questions

Go to the Practice Exam Questions for this topic.

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