Tooltip
Tooltips display additional information upon hover or focus. The information included should be contextual, helpful, and nonessential while providing that extra ability to communicate and give clarity to a user.
- Overview
- Live demo
- Formatting
- Content
- Universal behaviors
- Standard tooltip
- Icon button tooltip
- Definition tooltip
- Related
- References
- Feedback
Overview
A tooltip is a message box that is displayed when a user hovers over or gives focus to a UI element. The tool tip should be paired with an interactive UI element like a button. Tooltips should be used sparingly and contain succinct, supplementary information. Although Carbon tooltips used to allow for interactive elements such as buttons and links, do not include these elements in tooltips and use toggle tip instead.
Example of standard tooltip
When to use
- Describe icon buttons
- When more information is useful in helping a user make decisions
- When an element needs more context or explanation
- Use when defining a term or inline item
Example of when to use tooltip to describe an icon button
When not to use
- Since a tooltip disappears when a user hovers away, do not include information that is pertinent for the user to complete their task. Use helper text that is always visible and accessible for vital information such as required fields.
- Do not include interactive elements within a tooltip. Interactive elements in tooltips are inaccessible for some users and are hard to use for all users since tooltips do not receive focus. If images, buttons, or links need to be included in supplemental information, use the toggletip component and the disclosure pattern that allows for better tabbing and focus structure, improving the experience for all users.
Do use helper text for pertinent information.
Do not use tooltips for information for a user to complete their task.
Use succinct, directive text.
Do not use interactive elements within a tooltip.
Toggletips vs Tooltips
Toggletips and tooltips are similar visually and both contain a popover and interactive trigger element. The two components differ in the way they are invoked and dismissed and if the user must interact with the contents. A tooltip is exposed on hover or focus when you need to expose brief, supplemental information that is not interactive. A toggletip is used on click or enter when you need to expose interactive elements, such as button, that a user needs to interact with.
Variants
| Variant | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Standard tooltip | Provides nonessential, supplemental information to help a user make a decision |
| Icon button tooltip | Describes a button’s function or action |
| Definition tooltip | Provides additional help or defines an item or term. It may be used on the label of a UI element, or on a word embedded in a paragraph. |
