While you may have heard of anchor tooltips, the more advanced features of this tool can often be overlooked. Anchor tooltips are useful for providing additional information without taking up too much space on the website or app they’re featured in. This allows users to access helpful information when they need it without disrupting the flow of navigation around the site.
However, anchor tooltips can take up precious real estate when a cursor hovers over them. If you’ve experienced this problem, there is a solution. With some simple coding, you can hide anchor tooltips when the cursor is hovering over them.
This tutorial will walk you through the process of hiding anchor tooltips when hovering over them in two ways: using positional code and using an event listener.
Using Positioning Code
The first option involves using positioning code to position your tooltip so it appears only when necessary. This technique relies on the power of CSS positioning and defines the number of pixels of space necessary to shift your tooltip so it appears precisely at the right moment.
To begin, create an element called “tooltip” in HTML and give it a class of ‘HiddenTooltip’. Next, in your CSS file, create “hiddenTooltip” class with two parameters: left and opacity. Left sets the pixel space from the left axis and opacity sets how transparent your tooltip will be (0 is completely transparent and 1 is fully visible). Additionally, set position: absolute; for further precision about where the tooltip should appear.
Using an Event Listener
The second option involves using JavaScript to detect mouse events like onmouseover and onmouseout −meaning when hovering over or away from an element− as triggers to display or hide the tooltip accordingly. This event listener would enable you to control what action takes place by attaching listening functions − like display and hide methods − to certain mouse events.
To begin, write a function that responds to onMouseOver Events; when hovering over an element, it should call a display method to show your tooltip. Then write another function that responds to onMouseOut Events; meaning when a mouse exits an element, it should call a hide method to make sure your tooltip disappears. You can also attach other events like onClick to tweak how long your tooltip is visible after a mouse leaves an element.
Once completed, you will have successfully coded anchor tooltips so they only appear when necessary and remain hidden when hovered over!
Now that you’re familiar with how anchor tooltips work, ask yourself if you could benefit from implementing them on your own website or app. As mentioned earlier, anchor tooltips tend to be less intrusive than other forms of help text boxes and can provide extra detail without disrupting flow. If used correctly, your users will have access to extra information but won’t be overwhelmed by clutter along their route of exploration!