Tooltips

Tooltips display informative text when users hover over, focus on, or tap an element.

Material DesignMaterial Design

Usage

When activated, tooltips display a text label identifying an element, such as a description of its function.

Principles

Transient

Tooltips appear on hover, focus, or touch, and disappear after a short duration.

Paired

Tooltips are always paired nearby the element with which they are associated.

Succinct

Tooltips only include short, descriptive text.

Placement

【Do】Use tooltips for interactive imagery.

200% zoom

1. On hover

2. On focus

【Don’t】Don’t use tooltips to restate visible UI text.

200% zoom

1. On hover

2. On focus

200% zoom

1. Tooltips describe differences between similar elements

2. Tooltips distinguish actions with related iconography

【Don’t】200% zoom

1. Don’t display shadows on tooltips

2. Don’t display rich information and imagery on tooltips

【Do】Keep the position of the tooltip visible.

【Don’t】Don’t crop tooltips.

Desktop

Desktop tooltip on hover

Mobile

Tooltip displayed through long press

Tooltip summoned through focus (Android only)

Behavior

A tooltip is displayed upon tapping and holding a screen element or component (on mobile) or hovering over it (desktop). Continuously display the tooltip as long as the user long-presses or hovers over the element.

Timing

Display the tooltip for 1.5 seconds. If the user takes another action before that time ends, the tooltip will disappear.

Motion

Over 150ms, tooltips fade in and scale up using the deceleration curve. They fade out over 75ms.

1. 200% 2. 100%

On desktop, tooltips appear in the center of click targets and stay in place while cursor moves within the target.

1. Tooltip disappears when cursor moves out of the touch target 2. Tooltip remains while cursor moves within the touch target