You can customize the tooltips that appear when users hover over elements in Looker visualizations. Customized tooltips let you provide more context, display additional metrics, and tailor the information that's presented to your users. With the **Custom Tooltip** visualization setting, you can configure tooltips within the Explore [**Style** tab](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/creating-visualizations.md.txt#navigating-the-style-tab) (or the visualization [**Edit** menu](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/creating-visualizations-classic-explores.md.txt#quick_guide) for classic Explores) by using a combination of UI settings and an HTML editor that supports Liquid templating. This page provides guidance for enabling and using the **Custom Tooltips** visualization setting on your Looker (original) instance. This page includes the following sections: - [User and instance requirements](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/custom-tooltips.md.txt#user-and-instance-requirements) - [Limitations](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/custom-tooltips.md.txt#limitations) - [How to use Custom Tooltips](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/custom-tooltips.md.txt#how-to-use-custom-tooltips) - [Examples](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/custom-tooltips.md.txt#examples) - [Related resources](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/custom-tooltips.md.txt#related-resources) ## User and instance requirements To access the **Custom Tooltips** visualization setting, you must meet the following requirements: - Your Looker (original) instance must be running Looker 26.4 or later. - To make custom tooltips [in Explores](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/creating-and-editing-explores.md.txt), you must have the [`explore`](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/admin-panel-users-roles.md.txt#explore) permission, and access to the underlying LookML model. ## Limitations The **Custom Tooltips** feature has the following limitations: - Custom tooltips are supported for most visualization types except the following: - [Donut multiples charts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/donut-multiples-options.md.txt) - [Word cloud charts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/word-cloud-options.md.txt) - [Static map (regions) charts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/map-regions-options.md.txt) - [Static maps (points) charts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/map-points-options.md.txt) - Charts made using the [Chart Config Editor](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/chart-config-editor.md.txt) (with the exception of [Sankey charts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/sankey)) - Custom visualizations - Custom tooltips can only reference fields that are included in an Explore query. - Tooltips can only display the same data granularity as a given field. If users want to see a more granular level of data than is available in the tooltip, they must use the [drill down](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/viewing-and-interacting-with-explores.md.txt#drilling_down_into_the_data) functionality. - Custom tooltips are saved at the visualization level. They cannot be saved at the Explore level. - If you remove a field from an Explore query that has a custom tooltip, a user can still see that tooltip if the Explore query is [shared with them](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/sharing-urls.md.txt#sharing_a_querys_url) and they add the field back to the Explore query. - Rendered HTML in custom tooltips is subject to Looker's [HTML sanitization](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/html-sanitization.md.txt) rules. - Not all [Liquid variables](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/liquid-variable-reference.md.txt) may be supported for custom tooltips. - Tooltip customizations will override any theme that is applied to either an [internal (non-embedded) dashboard](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/themes-for-internal-dashboards.md.txt) or an [embedded dashboard](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/themes-for-embedded-dashboards-and-explores.md.txt). ## How to use Custom Tooltips If you have the [appropriate permissions](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/custom-tooltips.md.txt#user-and-instance-requirements), you can customize the tooltip for a series in your Explore visualization. To customize the tooltip, follow these steps: 1. Open or create an [Explore query](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/creating-and-editing-explores.md.txt) and select a [supported visualization type](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/custom-tooltips.md.txt#limitations). 2. Click the **Style** tab in the **Configure** panel to edit the visualization. For classic Explores, click **Edit** in the Explore **Visualization** tab to open the [visualization editor](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/creating-visualizations-classic-explores.md.txt#quick_guide). 3. Open the **Series** menu. - For [Google Maps charts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/google-map-options.md.txt#custom-tooltip) and [boxplot charts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/boxplot-options.md.txt#custom-tooltip), click the **Plot** tab, and proceed to step 5. - For [waterfall charts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/waterfall-options.md.txt#custom-tooltip), click the **Series** menu, and proceed to step 5. - For [KPI (Single Value)](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/kpi-single-value-options.md.txt#custom-tooltip) charts, [single value (legacy) charts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/single-value-options.md.txt#custom-tooltip), and [single record charts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/single-record-options.md.txt#custom-tooltip), click the **Style** menu, and proceed to step 5. - For [funnel charts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/funnel-options.md.txt#custom-tooltip), click the **Labels** menu, and proceed to step 5. - For [timeline charts](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/timeline-options.md.txt#custom-tooltip), click the **Options** menu, and proceed to step 5. 4. Under the **Customizations** section, find the series that you would like to add the tooltip to. If there are multiple series, expand the one that you want to add a tooltip to. 5. Click the **Custom Tooltip** switch to enable the custom tooltip functionality for that specific series or chart. 6. In the **Custom Tooltip** section, you can adjust the basic appearance of the tooltip using the provided options: - **Font Size**: Sets the font size of the tooltip font. - **Font Family**: Sets the font family of the tooltip font. - **Border Radius**: Sets the roundedness of the tooltip edges. The higher the number, the rounder the tooltip edges. - **Box Shadow**: Sets the shadow of the tooltip box. - **Font Color**: Sets the font color of the tooltip. - **Background Color**: Sets the background color of the tooltip. - **Border Color**: Sets the border color of the tooltip. - **Text Alignment** : Sets the alignment of the tooltip font. Choose **Align Left** , **Align Center** , or **Align Right** . **Align Left** is the default setting. 7. In addition or alternatively to the previous options, you can apply more advanced styling options by clicking **Edit Tooltip Content** to open the **Edit tooltip content** HTML editor. 8. In the **Edit Tooltip Content** editor, you can use [HTML](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/html-sanitization.md.txt) and [Liquid variables](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/liquid-variable-reference.md.txt) to structure and populate your tooltip. - Use standard HTML tags to format your tooltip content (for example, `
`, ``, ``, ``,`
    `, `
      `). Note that the rendered HTML is subject to Looker's [HTML sanitization](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/html-sanitization.md.txt) rules. - Not all Liquid variables may be supported for custom tooltips. 9. As you edit the custom tooltip content, you can preview the tooltip by clicking **Preview** (or keyboard shortcuts Command-Return for Mac, or Ctrl+Enter for PC) and hovering over the data points in the visualization preview pane. 10. Click **Save** in the HTML editor, and then save your Explore [as a Look](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/saving-and-editing-looks.md.txt) or [as a dashboard tile](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/creating-user-defined-dashboards.md.txt#adding_query_tiles_from_an_explore) to persist the changes. ## Examples The following examples demonstrate use cases for different levels of tooltip customization: - [Custom tooltip with multiple measure values](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/custom-tooltips.md.txt#custom-tooltip-with-multiple-measure-values) - [Custom tooltip with hidden values structured as a table](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/custom-tooltips.md.txt#custom-tooltip-values-as-a-table) - [Custom tooltip with common Liquid functions](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/custom-tooltips.md.txt#custom-tooltip-with-common-liquid-functions) ### Custom tooltip with multiple measure values Custom tooltips can be helpful in cases where you want to provide more context to users about a datapoint that is displayed in a visualization. For example, a single value chart displays the value of only one measure. With a custom tooltip, you can display more data, and provide your users with more context about the data in the chart. In this example, a single value chart titled "Count of orders in 2025" displays the value for **Orders Count** for the **Users Country** "USA", and is based on an Explore query that also includes **Order Items Count** . However, the value for **Order Items Count** isn't displayed in the chart. The following HTML is input in the **Edit Tooltip Content** editor for the **Orders Count** series, and sets the content to include the **Order Items Count** value in the tooltip:
      Order Items Count: {{ order_items.count }}
      Orders Count: {{ orders.count }}
      ![A tooltip for the Orders Count single value chart displays the Order Items Count value of $54,340, and the Orders Count value of 39,189.](https://docs.cloud.google.com/static/looker/docs/images/looker-custom-tooltip-example-1-2620.png) Users are able to see the values for both fields, **Orders Count** and **Order Items Count**, and have more context for the data that is displayed in the chart. ### Custom tooltip with hidden values structured as a table As noted in the [limitations](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/custom-tooltips.md.txt#limitations) information on this page, custom tooltips can only reference fields that are included in an Explore query. However, you may not want to display all of the Explore fields in a chart. With a custom tooltip, you can display data from fields that are [hidden from visualizations](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/creating-visualizations.md.txt#hide) to your users, without adding them to a chart. In this example, an Explore data table includes the measures **Orders Count** and **Order Items Count** , grouped by the dimensions **Users State** and **Orders Status** . The developer wants to display a small table to users, and hides the fields **Orders Status** and **Order Items Count** from the table chart. However, the developer still wants users to see the **Orders Status** and **Order Items Count** values that are associated with a given **Orders Count**. The following HTML is entered in the **Edit Tooltip Content** editor for the **Orders Count** series, and sets the content to include the values for **Orders Status** and **Order Items Count** in the tooltip, structured as a table:
Order status {{ orders.status }}
State {{ users.state }}
Count of orders {{ orders.count }}
Count of order items {{ order_items.count }}
![A tooltip for the Orders Count value in a table chart displays the values for Users State, Orders Status, Orders Count, and Order Items Count in a two-column table.](https://docs.cloud.google.com/static/looker/docs/images/looker-custom-tooltip-example-2-2620.png) Users can see all of the Explore query data, without the additional fields displayed in the table chart. ### Custom tooltip with common Liquid functions Custom tooltips support common Liquid functions such as piping and using downcast statements. In this example, a column chart displays **Orders Count** grouped by **Orders Status** . The developer wants to format the tooltip so that users can quickly identify the difference between the **Orders Count** for a "cancelled" **Orders Status** and a "complete" **Orders Status**. The following HTML and Liquid is entered in the **Edit Tooltip Content** editor for the **Orders Count** series, and sets the tooltip value to appear red for order counts with a "cancelled" status and green for orders with a "complete" status. The code uses a variable assignment and piping to ensure the accuracy of the string, and to apply the specified conditional formatting: > [!NOTE] > **Note:** To ensure accuracy of conditional statements, apply data transformations during variable assignment. {% assign my_variable = orders.status | downcase | strip %} {% if my_variable == "complete" %} {{orders.count}} {% else %} {{orders.count}} {% endif %} The **Orders Count** value for the "complete" **Orders Status** column displays green text in the tooltip. ![A tooltip displays the Orders Count value green in the complete Orders Status column.](https://docs.cloud.google.com/static/looker/docs/images/looker-custom-tooltip-example-3a-2620.png) The **Orders Count** value for the "cancelled" **Orders Status** column displays red text in the tooltip. ![A tooltip displays the Orders Count value green in the complete Orders Status column.](https://docs.cloud.google.com/static/looker/docs/images/looker-custom-tooltip-example-3b-2620.png) Users are quickly able to distinguish between cancelled and complete orders displayed in the column chart. ## Related resources - Learn more about [creating visualizations](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/creating-visualizations.md.txt). - Review the [Liquid variable reference](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/liquid-variable-reference.md.txt) documentation page for more ways to use Liquid in Looker. - Review the [HTML sanitation](https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/html-sanitization.md.txt) documentation page for more information about Looker-supported HTML tags.