How to: Position a ToolTip

This example shows how to specify the position of a tooltip on the screen.

Example

You can position a tooltip by using a set of five properties that are defined in both the ToolTip and ToolTipService classes. The following table shows these two sets of five properties and provides links to their reference documentation according to class.

Corresponding tooltip properties according to class

If you define the contents of a tooltip by using a ToolTip object, you can use the properties of either class; however, the ToolTipService properties take precedence. Use the ToolTipService properties for tooltips that are not defined as ToolTip objects.

The following illustrations show how to position a tooltip by using these properties. Although, the Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) examples in these illustrations show how to set the properties that are defined by the ToolTip class, the corresponding properties of the ToolTipService class follow the same layout rules. For more information about the possible values for the Placement property, see Popup Placement Behavior.

The following image shows tooltip placement by using the Placement property:

The following image shows tooltip placement by using the Placement and PlacementRectangle properties:

The following image shows tooltip placement by using the Placement, PlacementRectangle, and Offset properties:

The following example shows how to use the ToolTip properties to specify the position of a tooltip whose content is a ToolTip object.

<Ellipse Height="25" Width="50" 
         Fill="Gray" 
         HorizontalAlignment="Left"
         ToolTipService.InitialShowDelay="1000"
         ToolTipService.ShowDuration="7000"
         ToolTipService.BetweenShowDelay="2000">
  <Ellipse.ToolTip>
    <ToolTip Placement="Right" 
             PlacementRectangle="50,0,0,0"
             HorizontalOffset="10" 
             VerticalOffset="20"
             HasDropShadow="false"
             Opened="whenToolTipOpens"
             Closed="whenToolTipCloses"
             >
      <BulletDecorator>
        <BulletDecorator.Bullet>
          <Ellipse Height="10" Width="20" Fill="Blue"/>
        </BulletDecorator.Bullet>
        <TextBlock>Uses the ToolTip Class</TextBlock>
      </BulletDecorator>
    </ToolTip>
  </Ellipse.ToolTip>
</Ellipse>

//Create an ellipse that will have a
//ToolTip control.
Ellipse ellipse1 = new Ellipse();
ellipse1.Height = 25;
ellipse1.Width = 50;
ellipse1.Fill = Brushes.Gray;
ellipse1.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Left;

//Create a tooltip and set its position.
ToolTip tooltip = new ToolTip();
tooltip.Placement = PlacementMode.Right;
tooltip.PlacementRectangle = new Rect(50, 0, 0, 0);
tooltip.HorizontalOffset = 10;
tooltip.VerticalOffset = 20;

//Create BulletDecorator and set it
//as the tooltip content.
BulletDecorator bdec = new BulletDecorator();
Ellipse littleEllipse = new Ellipse();
littleEllipse.Height = 10;
littleEllipse.Width = 20;
littleEllipse.Fill = Brushes.Blue;
bdec.Bullet = littleEllipse;
TextBlock tipText = new TextBlock();
tipText.Text = "Uses the ToolTip class";
bdec.Child = tipText;
tooltip.Content = bdec;

//set tooltip on ellipse
ellipse1.ToolTip = tooltip;

'Create an ellipse that will have a 
'ToolTip control. 
Dim ellipse1 As New Ellipse()
ellipse1.Height = 25
ellipse1.Width = 50
ellipse1.Fill = Brushes.Gray
ellipse1.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Left

'Create a tooltip and set its position.
Dim tooltip As New ToolTip()
tooltip.Placement = PlacementMode.Right
tooltip.PlacementRectangle = New Rect(50, 0, 0, 0)
tooltip.HorizontalOffset = 10
tooltip.VerticalOffset = 20

'Create BulletDecorator and set it
'as the tooltip content.
Dim bdec As New BulletDecorator()
Dim littleEllipse As New Ellipse()
littleEllipse.Height = 10
littleEllipse.Width = 20
littleEllipse.Fill = Brushes.Blue
bdec.Bullet = littleEllipse
Dim tipText As New TextBlock()
tipText.Text = "Uses the ToolTip class"
bdec.Child = tipText
tooltip.Content = bdec

'set tooltip on ellipse
ellipse1.ToolTip = tooltip

The following example shows how to use the ToolTipService properties to specify the position of a tooltip whose content is not a ToolTip object.

<Ellipse Height="25" Width="50" 
      Fill="Gray" 
      HorizontalAlignment="Left"
      ToolTipService.InitialShowDelay="1000"
      ToolTipService.ShowDuration="7000"
      ToolTipService.BetweenShowDelay="2000"
      ToolTipService.Placement="Right" 
      ToolTipService.PlacementRectangle="50,0,0,0"
      ToolTipService.HorizontalOffset="10" 
      ToolTipService.VerticalOffset="20"
      ToolTipService.HasDropShadow="false"
      ToolTipService.ShowOnDisabled="true" 
      ToolTipService.IsEnabled="true"
      ToolTipOpening="whenToolTipOpens"
      ToolTipClosing="whenToolTipCloses"
      >
  <Ellipse.ToolTip>
    <BulletDecorator>
      <BulletDecorator.Bullet>
        <Ellipse Height="10" Width="20" Fill="Blue"/>
      </BulletDecorator.Bullet>
      <TextBlock>Uses the ToolTipService class</TextBlock>
    </BulletDecorator>
  </Ellipse.ToolTip>
</Ellipse>

//Create and Ellipse with the BulletDecorator as
//the tooltip
Ellipse ellipse2 = new Ellipse();
ellipse2.Name = "ellipse2";
this.RegisterName(ellipse2.Name, ellipse2);
ellipse2.Height = 25;
ellipse2.Width = 50;
ellipse2.Fill = Brushes.Gray;
ellipse2.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Left;

//set tooltip timing
ToolTipService.SetInitialShowDelay(ellipse2, 1000);
ToolTipService.SetBetweenShowDelay(ellipse2, 2000);
ToolTipService.SetShowDuration(ellipse2, 7000);

//set tooltip placement

ToolTipService.SetPlacement(ellipse2, PlacementMode.Right);

ToolTipService.SetPlacementRectangle(ellipse2,
    new Rect(50, 0, 0, 0));

ToolTipService.SetHorizontalOffset(ellipse2, 10.0);

ToolTipService.SetVerticalOffset(ellipse2, 20.0);


ToolTipService.SetHasDropShadow(ellipse2, false);

ToolTipService.SetIsEnabled(ellipse2, true);

ToolTipService.SetShowOnDisabled(ellipse2, true);

ellipse2.AddHandler(ToolTipService.ToolTipOpeningEvent,
    new RoutedEventHandler(whenToolTipOpens));
ellipse2.AddHandler(ToolTipService.ToolTipClosingEvent,
    new RoutedEventHandler(whenToolTipCloses));

//define tooltip content
BulletDecorator bdec2 = new BulletDecorator();
Ellipse littleEllipse2 = new Ellipse();
littleEllipse2.Height = 10;
littleEllipse2.Width = 20;
littleEllipse2.Fill = Brushes.Blue;
bdec2.Bullet = littleEllipse2;
TextBlock tipText2 = new TextBlock();
tipText2.Text = "Uses the ToolTipService class";
bdec2.Child = tipText2;
ToolTipService.SetToolTip(ellipse2, bdec2);
stackPanel_1_2.Children.Add(ellipse2);

'Create and Ellipse with the BulletDecorator as 
'the tooltip 
Dim ellipse2 As New Ellipse()
ellipse2.Name = "ellipse2"
Me.RegisterName(ellipse2.Name, ellipse2)
ellipse2.Height = 25
ellipse2.Width = 50
ellipse2.Fill = Brushes.Gray
ellipse2.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Left

'set tooltip timing
ToolTipService.SetInitialShowDelay(ellipse2, 1000)
ToolTipService.SetBetweenShowDelay(ellipse2, 2000)
ToolTipService.SetShowDuration(ellipse2, 7000)

'set tooltip placement

ToolTipService.SetPlacement(ellipse2, PlacementMode.Right)

ToolTipService.SetPlacementRectangle(ellipse2, New Rect(50, 0, 0, 0))

ToolTipService.SetHorizontalOffset(ellipse2, 10.0)

ToolTipService.SetVerticalOffset(ellipse2, 20.0)


ToolTipService.SetHasDropShadow(ellipse2, False)

ToolTipService.SetIsEnabled(ellipse2, True)

ToolTipService.SetShowOnDisabled(ellipse2, True)

ellipse2.AddHandler(ToolTipService.ToolTipOpeningEvent, New RoutedEventHandler(AddressOf whenToolTipOpens))
ellipse2.AddHandler(ToolTipService.ToolTipClosingEvent, New RoutedEventHandler(AddressOf whenToolTipCloses))

'define tooltip content
Dim bdec2 As New BulletDecorator()
Dim littleEllipse2 As New Ellipse()
littleEllipse2.Height = 10
littleEllipse2.Width = 20
littleEllipse2.Fill = Brushes.Blue
bdec2.Bullet = littleEllipse2
Dim tipText2 As New TextBlock()
tipText2.Text = "Uses the ToolTipService class"
bdec2.Child = tipText2
ToolTipService.SetToolTip(ellipse2, bdec2)
stackPanel_1_2.Children.Add(ellipse2)

See also

• ToolTip
• ToolTipService
• How-to Topics
• ToolTip Overview