tooltip

{{short description|Graphical user interface element}}

{{Redirect|Tooltips|information on tooltips in Wikipedia|Wikipedia:Tooltip|selfref=yes}}

{{confused|Tipped tool}}

{{more citations needed|date=December 2020}}

File:HTML tooltip.png, showing what the abbreviation stands for.]]

The tooltip, also known as infotip or hint, is a common graphical user interface (GUI) element in which, when hovering over a screen element or component, a text box displays information about that element, such as a description of a button's function, what an abbreviation stands for, or the exact absolute time stamp over a relative time ("… ago"). In common practice, the tooltip is displayed continuously as long as the user hovers over the element or the text box provided by the tool.{{cite web |url=https://material.io/components/tooltips |title = Material Design}} It is sometimes possible for the mouse to hover within the text box provided to activate a nested tooltip, and this can continue to any depth, often with multiple text boxes overlapped.

On desktop, it is used in conjunction with a cursor, usually a pointer, whereby the tooltip appears when a user hovers the pointer over an item without clicking it.{{cite web|url=http://www.techterms.com/definition/tooltip|title=Tooltip Definition|publisher=TechTerms.com|access-date=13 May 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/Controls/tooltip-controls|title=About Tooltip Controls - Windows applications|website=Microsoft Docs|date=21 August 2020 }}

File:Mobile_URL_tooltip.png derivative, revealed with the stylus on a Samsung Galaxy Note 4.]]

On touch-screen devices, a tooltip is displayed upon long-pressing—i.e., tapping and holding—an element. Some smartphones have alternative input methods such as a stylus, which can show tooltips when hovering above the screen.

A common variant of tooltips, especially in older software, is displaying a description of the tool in a status bar.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}} Microsoft's tooltips feature found in its end-user documentation is named ScreenTips."[https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/show-or-hide-screentips-72d92d6a-6d2a-40fd-9ac2-fb9413ffce18 Show or hide ScreenTips]." Microsoft Support. Retrieved 2020 December 13. Apple's tooltips feature found in its developer documentation is named help tags.{{Cite web|title=Help - User Interaction - macOS - Human Interface Guidelines - Apple Developer|url=https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/macos/user-interaction/help/|access-date=2021-08-12|website=developer.apple.com}} The Classic Mac OS uses a tooltips feature, though in a slightly different way, known as balloon help.{{cite web |url=https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/balloon-help |title = Definition of balloon help {{!}} PCMag}} Some software and applications, such as GIMP, provide an option for users to turn off some or all tooltips. However, such options are left to the discretion of the developer, and are often not implemented.{{cite web |title=22 Tooltip Examples That Boost User Engagement |url=https://userguiding.com/es/blog/tooltips-ejemplos/ |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=UserGuiding |language=es}}