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A tooltip is a small pop-up box that provides a brief description of an element on a screen, such as a button or icon, when the user pauses their mouse pointer over it. These are used to give users additional, contextual information without cluttering the main interface, and they are common in modern operating systems and applications.

Function and purpose

Provide information: Tooltips offer concise labels or instructions for icons, buttons, or other UI elements, helping users understand their function.

Improve usability: They make an interface more user-friendly by providing context on demand, which is especially useful for complex or unfamiliar applications.

Examples: When you hover over a button in a software program, a tooltip might appear explaining what it does, such as "Save this document". The system also uses them for things like showing a file's full name when the cursor is held over a shortened version.

Key characteristics

Triggered by hover: Tooltips are typically triggered by hovering the mouse pointer over an element, but they are not available on touchscreens.

Dynamic display: They appear near the cursor and may dynamically adjust their position to stay on screen.

Content limitations: Tooltip text is usually kept brief, often limited to around 80 characters for standard tooltips, though multi-line tooltips can be longer.