diff --git a/frontend/src/core/components/tools/shared/ToolStep.tsx b/frontend/src/core/components/tools/shared/ToolStep.tsx
index bff8b0357..89c39aad8 100644
--- a/frontend/src/core/components/tools/shared/ToolStep.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/core/components/tools/shared/ToolStep.tsx
@@ -80,6 +80,8 @@ const ToolStep = ({
   alwaysShowTooltip = false,
   tooltip
 }: ToolStepProps) => {
+  if (!isVisible) return null;
+
   const parent = useContext(ToolStepContext);
 
   // Auto-detect if we should show numbers based on sibling count or force option
@@ -91,8 +93,6 @@ const ToolStep = ({
 
   const stepNumber = _stepNumber;
 
-  if (!isVisible) return null;
-
   return (
     <div>
       <div
diff --git a/frontend/src/core/components/tooltips/useSplitSettingsTips.ts b/frontend/src/core/components/tooltips/useSplitSettingsTips.ts
index ca0993722..6a1b56ca9 100644
--- a/frontend/src/core/components/tooltips/useSplitSettingsTips.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/core/components/tooltips/useSplitSettingsTips.ts
@@ -2,13 +2,11 @@ import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
 import { TooltipContent } from '@app/types/tips';
 import { SPLIT_METHODS, type SplitMethod } from '@app/constants/splitConstants';
 
-/**
- * Hook that returns tooltip content for ALL split methods
- * Can be called once and then looked up by method
- */
-export const useSplitSettingsTips = (): Record<SplitMethod, TooltipContent> => {
+export const useSplitSettingsTips = (method: SplitMethod | ''): TooltipContent | null => {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
 
+  if (!method) return null;
+
   const tooltipMap: Record<SplitMethod, TooltipContent> = {
     [SPLIT_METHODS.BY_PAGES]: {
       header: {
@@ -132,5 +130,5 @@ export const useSplitSettingsTips = (): Record<SplitMethod, TooltipContent> => {
     }
   };
 
-  return tooltipMap;
-};
\ No newline at end of file
+  return tooltipMap[method];
+};