ToolTip Class

With the ToolTip class, you can provide hints to a user when the user places the pointer on a control. The ToolTip class is typically used to alert users to the intended use of a control. For example, you can specify ToolTip text for a TextBox control that accepts a name, specifying the format of the name to be typed into the control. In addition to providing hints, you can also use the ToolTip class to provide run time status information. For example, you can use the ToolTip class to display connection speed and line quality data when the user moves the pointer onto a PictureBox control that displays Internet connection status.

The ToolTip class can be used in any container. To explicitly specify a container, use the ToolTip(IContainer) constructor. A single ToolTip component typically is used to create ToolTips for multiple controls on a single form. After you create a ToolTip, use a separate call to the SetToolTip method to associate ToolTip display text to an individual control. Then when the user moves the pointer on a control, the ToolTip with its text is displayed. You can call SetToolTip more than once for the same control to change the text that is associated with the control. To get the text that is associated with a control, use the GetToolTip method. To remove all ToolTip text associations with an instance of the ToolTip class, use the RemoveAll method.

Note
ToolTip text is not displayed for controls that are disabled. Unless the ShowAlways property is set to true, ToolTips are not displayed when their container is inactive.

The ToolTip class provides the following properties and methods to modify the default behavior and appearance of a ToolTip.

If you want to disable all ToolTip text so that it cannot be displayed in your application, you can use the Active property. Usually the ToolTip is drawn by the operating system, but to customize the appearance of the ToolTip, you can set the OwnerDraw property to true and handle the Draw event.

The ToolTipTitle class implements the System.ComponentModel.IExtenderProvider interface, which has a single method, CanExtend. ToolTips extend controls on the same form at design time, adding a ToolTip property. For more information about extender providers, see Extender Providers.

The following code example creates an instance of the ToolTip class and associates the instance with the Form that the instance is created within. The code then initializes the delay properties AutoPopDelay, InitialDelay, and ReshowDelay. In addition the instance of the ToolTip class sets the ShowAlways property to true to enable ToolTip text to always be display regardless of whether the form is active. Finally, the example associates ToolTip text with two controls on a form, a Button and a CheckBox. The code example requires that the method defined in the example is located within a Form that contains a Button control named button1 and a CheckBox control named checkBox1, and that the method is called from the constructor of the Form.

      // This example assumes that the Form_Load event handling method
      // is connected to the Load event of the form.
      private void Form1_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
      {
         // Create the ToolTip and associate with the Form container.
         ToolTip toolTip1 = new ToolTip();

         // Set up the delays for the ToolTip.
         toolTip1.AutoPopDelay = 5000;
         toolTip1.InitialDelay = 1000;
         toolTip1.ReshowDelay = 500;
         // Force the ToolTip text to be displayed whether or not the form is active.
         toolTip1.ShowAlways = true;
			
         // Set up the ToolTip text for the Button and Checkbox.
         toolTip1.SetToolTip(this.button1, "My button1");
         toolTip1.SetToolTip(this.checkBox1, "My checkBox1");
      }

.NET Framework

.NET Framework Client Profile

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

Reference

Other Resources