18.4 Visual Tooltips: Modern Style and Drill Actions
Start with a problem
Amir turned on modern tooltips and now sees drill actions in some tooltips but not others.
Explain simply
Modern visual tooltips use the report theme and can include drill actions (Drill down/up/through) in the tooltip itself. Availability depends on report settings and the visual type.
Show the data
| Setting | Location |
|---|---|
| Modern visual tooltips | Options › Current File › Report settings |
| Tooltip style | Format › General › Tooltips (theme, text size) |
About this data: This table uses columns: Setting, Location. This table uses columns: Hover, Tooltip footer. This table uses columns: Wrong result, Reason, Correction. Values shown are the lesson examples already on this page (not a new dataset).
Fictional sample data. Practice file: visuals_orders_apr_may_2026.csv (source: src/practice/).
Demonstrate
- File › Options and settings › Options › Current File › Report settings › tick Modern visual tooltips.
- Hover the City chart (with drill-through page available).
- Use the action at the bottom of the tooltip to drill through to Store detail.
Show the result
Your result should look like this (fictional sample):
| Hover | Tooltip footer |
|---|---|
| Pune bar (drill-through page exists) | Drill through › Store detail |
Explain what happened
Modern tooltips read the drill options of the visual and offer them inside the tooltip.
Explore further
- Report page tooltips (18.3) still work alongside modern styling.
Detailed reference for this lesson:
Newer versions of Power BI have modern visual tooltips. They have updated styling and drill actions: Drill down, Drill up and Drill through buttons inside the tooltip itself.
Steps in Power BI
- File › Options and settings › Options › Current File › Report settings.
- Tick Use modern visual tooltips with drill actions and updated styling (the exact wording can vary by version) › OK.
- Hover over a bar in a chart with a hierarchy or a drill-through page. The tooltip shows drill action buttons.
- Format tooltips: select a visual › Format visual › General › Tooltips › Options (Type: Default / Report page), Text (font, label colour, value colour, drill text and icon colour), Background (colour, transparency).
Ravindra Bagale's Tip
Friends, many students switch on modern tooltips and then wonder why drill actions don't appear on some visuals. Check that the feature is enabled in your Desktop version and that the visual supports it. Test the tooltip in the Service too, because behaviour can differ by version. Clear?
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – मराठी
मित्रांनो, बरेच students modern tooltips चालू करतात आणि मग काही visuals वर drill actions का दिसत नाहीत याचा विचार करतात. तुमच्या Desktop version मध्ये हे feature enable आहे आणि visual ला ते support आहे हे चेक करा. Tooltip Service मध्येही test करा, कारण version नुसार वागणं बदलू शकतं. समजलं का?
Ravindra Bagale's Tip – हिंदी
दोस्तों, बहुत से students modern tooltips चालू करते हैं और फिर सोचते हैं कि कुछ visuals पर drill actions क्यों नहीं दिखते. Check करो कि तुम्हारे Desktop version में यह feature enable है और visual इसे support करता है. Tooltip को Service में भी test करो, क्योंकि version के हिसाब से व्यवहार बदल सकता है. समझ आया?
Fix common mistakes
| Wrong result | Reason | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| Drill actions missing | Setting off or visual not supported | Enable setting; check the visual type |
| Tooltip colours clash | Theme not set | Set tooltip colours in the theme |
| Old reports look different | Setting is per file | Turn it on per report |
Practise independently
Practice task
Where would you turn on modern tooltips for an old report?
Hints
- Per-file setting.
Solution
File › Options and settings › Options › Current File › Report settings › Modern visual tooltips.
Think like a professional
Settings that are per file are easy to miss in a team. Add them to your report checklist.
Revision card