Posted on December 28, 2022 (Updated on July 21, 2025)

Display Map Tips in QGIS

Hiking & Activities

QGIS Map Tips: Unlock Hidden Info with a Mouse Hover

Ever wished you could just wave your mouse over a map feature and poof, get instant info? Well, QGIS has you covered with something called “Map Tips.” Think of them as little pop-up info boxes that appear when you hover your cursor over a feature. It’s like giving your map a superpower – instant data access! They’re super handy for exploring your data and discovering hidden details without a bunch of clicking. Let’s dive into how to make these work for you.

What Exactly Are Map Tips?

Basically, map tips are dynamic little displays that pop up when you hover your mouse over something interesting on your map. They can show all sorts of stuff: attribute data (like names or numbers), custom text, even images and HTML. I remember one time, I was working on a project mapping historical sites, and being able to hover over a building and instantly see its construction date saved me so much time digging through spreadsheets. The possibilities are pretty endless, especially since QGIS 2.16 let’s you use full HTML for them.

Getting Started: Turning on Map Tips

First things first, you gotta turn these things on! There are a couple of easy ways to do it:

  • The Menu Route: Head up to the “View” menu and just click “Map Tips.” Simple as that.
  • The Toolbar Trick: Look for the “Map Tips” button in your toolbar. Don’t see it? No sweat! Just right-click in the toolbar area and make sure “Attribute Toolbar” is checked. That should bring it into view.

    • Once you’ve flipped the switch, QGIS will start showing your map tip content whenever your mouse dances over a feature.

    Customizing What You See: Configuring Map Tip Content

    Okay, now for the fun part: deciding what actually shows up in those map tips. This is all done in the Layer Properties. Here’s the lowdown:

  • Open ‘er Up: Double-click on your layer in the “Layers” panel, or right-click and choose “Properties.”

  • Find the “Display” Tab: In the Layer Properties window, look for the “Display” tab. It often has a little yellow speech bubble icon, so it’s hard to miss.

  • Pick Your Poison (Display Mode, That Is): In the Display tab, you’ll see options for “Field” or “HTML.”

    • “Field” – The Easy Route: This just shows the value of a single attribute field from your data table. It’s the simplest way to get basic info popping up.
    • “HTML” – Unleash Your Inner Designer: This is where things get interesting. HTML lets you create seriously customized map tips with formatted text, images, links – you name it! You can even pull in data from your attributes to make them dynamic.

    • Level Up: Creating HTML-Powered Map Tips

    Seriously, HTML is where the magic happens. Here’s how to build some awesome HTML map tips:

  • Engage HTML Mode: In the Layer Properties, Display tab, click that “HTML” radio button.
  • Write Some Code (Don’t Panic!): Now, in the text box, type in your HTML code. Use standard HTML tags to format your text, add images, create links, etc. Think of it as a mini-website for your map tip.
  • Sprinkle in Some Data: To show attribute values in your HTML, use this cool trick: % “field_name” %. Just replace “field_name” with the actual name of the field you want to display. For example, if you had a field called “Tree_Type”, you’d use % “Tree_Type” %.
  • Spice it Up with Expressions: QGIS expressions are like little formulas you can use to calculate things or add logic to your map tips. Embed them in your HTML using the same % … % syntax.

    • Example Time!

    Let’s say you have a layer of city districts. Here’s some HTML code you could use:

    html

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