How to Completely Disable ‘ScreenTips’ (Hover Tooltips) in Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel utilizes a feature known as “ScreenTips” to provide contextual help and descriptions when you hover your mouse cursor over command buttons, ribbon tabs, or UI elements. While these small, pop-up text boxes are invaluable for beginners learning the interface, they can become a significant nuisance for power users. If you are working quickly across multiple monitors or navigating a dense spreadsheet, the constant appearance of yellow hover boxes can obscure critical data or distract your focus.

This guide explains how to completely disable ScreenTips in Microsoft Excel, providing a cleaner, distraction-free environment for advanced users.

Disable ScreenTips via Excel Options

The global control for all graphical tooltips within the Microsoft Office suite is located within the core application settings menu.

1. Launch Microsoft Excel and open any workbook (or a blank document).
2. Click on the File tab located in the top-left corner of the Ribbon interface.
3. At the very bottom of the left-hand sidebar, select Options to open the Excel Options dialogue box.
4. Ensure the General tab is selected in the left-hand pane.
5. Scroll down to the section labelled User Interface options.
6. Locate the drop-down menu next to ScreenTip style:.
7. Click the drop-down menu and select Don’t show ScreenTips.
8. Click OK at the bottom of the window to apply your changes.

By selecting this option, Excel will immediately suppress all hover tooltips across the entire application interface. Note that because this is a suite-wide setting, changing it in Excel will also disable ScreenTips in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Alternative: Disable Feature Descriptions Only

If completely disabling ScreenTips makes navigating the Ribbon too difficult (especially for obscure icons), you can choose a compromise setting. You can instruct Excel to show the name of the tool but suppress the lengthy, multi-line description.

1. Return to the Excel Options menu (File > Options > General).
2. Navigate back to the ScreenTip style: drop-down menu.
3. Select the middle option: Don’t show feature descriptions in ScreenTips.
4. Click OK.

This alternative setting ensures that when you hover over a button, a small, unobtrusive box will display its basic name (e.g., “Merge & Center”) without the large explanatory paragraph, balancing interface clarity with necessary usability.