How to add a tooltip to your Confluence page

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Sharing the right amount of context for everyone who will read your page can be a tricky balance. Too little information can leave people confused and even excluded from the conversation, while too much quickly becomes messy, with the important points lost in a tangle of unnecessary details. 

Here’s how to add an extra bit of information, without breaking your flow and overshadowing the important stuff, by using a tooltip.

What is a tooltip?

A tooltip is a subtle icon that, when hovered over or clicked, opens a small window of text. They can sit within a sentence or paragraph without disrupting the flow and are perfect for when readers want a bit more context, such as a quick definition, explanation, example, or equation.

Tooltips examples

Here's a tooltip inside a table heading to explain an equation:

 

And here's one in a paragraph, providing a definition for an acronym:

How to add tooltips to a Confluence page

As Confluence doesn't include tooltips as a built-in feature, you'll need the help of an app from the Atlassian Marketplace, such as Tooltips for Confluence. Alternatively, you could get tooltips as part of a suite of content formatting macros with an app like Mosaic for Confluence. The instructions below apply to either of the two apps mentioned.

Install your chosen app and then follow the instructions below:

1. Head to your Confluence page and click the Edit icon (the pencil) in the top-right corner.
2. Click next to the text you want to provide more information on. Then type the /tooltip shortcut and select the Tooltip macro from the drop-down menu.
3. Add the text you want to display in the tooltip when users click or hover over it and press Save.
4. When you’re ready, click Publish or Update in the top-right corner of your Confluence page and see your new tooltip in action.

 

Other ways to add extra information to your Confluence page

If you’re looking for an alternative way to store context for optional reading, consider a collapsible section, such as Confluence’s built-in Expand macro or third-party Advanced Expands from Mosaic for more customisation options.

Collapsible sections stand out more than tooltips, but they still help prevent information overload and reduce page size. While they don't slot into a sentence like a tooltip can, they’re great for providing quick definitions and explanations.

They are especially useful for FAQs, as you can stack them on top of each other and side by side in Confluence layouts to form a tidy collection of questions and answers.

Do you have any other tips for adding extra information to your Confluence page? Share them in the comments! 👇