GtkTooltips

GtkTooltips — Add tips to your widgets

Synopsis


#include <gtk/gtk.h>


            GtkTooltips;
            GtkTooltipsData;
GtkTooltips* gtk_tooltips_new               (void);
void        gtk_tooltips_enable             (GtkTooltips *tooltips);
void        gtk_tooltips_disable            (GtkTooltips *tooltips);
void        gtk_tooltips_set_delay          (GtkTooltips *tooltips,
                                             guint delay);
void        gtk_tooltips_set_tip            (GtkTooltips *tooltips,
                                             GtkWidget *widget,
                                             const gchar *tip_text,
                                             const gchar *tip_private);
GtkTooltipsData* gtk_tooltips_data_get      (GtkWidget *widget);
void        gtk_tooltips_force_window       (GtkTooltips *tooltips);
gboolean    gtk_tooltips_get_info_from_tip_window
                                            (GtkWindow *tip_window,
                                             GtkTooltips **tooltips,
                                             GtkWidget **current_widget);

Object Hierarchy


  GObject
   +----GInitiallyUnowned
         +----GtkObject
               +----GtkTooltips

Description

Tooltips are the messages that appear next to a widget when the mouse pointer is held over it for a short amount of time. They are especially helpful for adding more verbose descriptions of things such as buttons in a toolbar.

An individual tooltip belongs to a group of tooltips. A group is created with a call to gtk_tooltips_new(). Every tooltip in the group can then be turned off with a call to gtk_tooltips_disable() and enabled with gtk_tooltips_enable().

The length of time the user must keep the mouse over a widget before the tip is shown, can be altered with gtk_tooltips_set_delay(). This is set on a 'per group of tooltips' basis.

To assign a tip to a particular GtkWidget, gtk_tooltips_set_tip() is used.

Note

Tooltips can only be set on widgets which have their own X window and receive enter and leave events. To check if a widget has its own window use GTK_WIDGET_NO_WINDOW(). To add a tooltip to a widget that doesn't have its own window, place the widget inside a GtkEventBox and add a tooltip to that instead.

The default appearance of all tooltips in a program is determined by the current GTK+ theme that the user has selected.

Information about the tooltip (if any) associated with an arbitrary widget can be retrieved using gtk_tooltips_data_get().

Example 43. Adding tooltips to buttons.

   GtkWidget *load_button, *save_button, *hbox;
   GtkTooltips *button_bar_tips;
   
   button_bar_tips = gtk_tooltips_new ();
   
   /* Create the buttons and pack them into a GtkHBox */
   hbox = gtk_hbox_new (TRUE, 2);
   
   load_button = gtk_button_new_with_label ("Load a file");
   gtk_box_pack_start (GTK_BOX (hbox), load_button, TRUE, TRUE, 2);
   gtk_widget_show (load_button);
   
   save_button = gtk_button_new_with_label ("Save a file");
   gtk_box_pack_start (GTK_BOX (hbox), save_button, TRUE, TRUE, 2);
   gtk_widget_show (save_button);
   gtk_widget_show (hbox);
   
   /* Add the tips */
   gtk_tooltips_set_tip (GTK_TOOLTIPS (button_bar_tips), load_button,
				 "Load a new document into this window",
				 "Requests the filename of a document.
				  This will then be loaded into the current
				  window, replacing the contents of whatever
				  is already loaded.");
   gtk_tooltips_set_tip (GTK_TOOLTIPS (button_bar_tips), save_button,
				 "Saves the current document to a file",
				 "If you have saved the document previously,
				  then the new version will be saved over the
				  old one. Otherwise, you will be prompted for
				  a filename.");


Details

GtkTooltips

typedef struct _GtkTooltips GtkTooltips;

Holds information about a group of tooltips. Fields should be changed using the functions provided, rather than directly accessing the struct's members.

GtkTooltipsData

typedef struct {
  GtkTooltips *tooltips;
  GtkWidget *widget;
  gchar *tip_text;
  gchar *tip_private;
} GtkTooltipsData;

tooltips is the GtkTooltips group that this tooltip belongs to. widget is the GtkWidget that this tooltip data is associated with. tip_text is a string containing the tooltip message itself.

tip_private is a string that is not shown as the default tooltip. Instead, this message may be more informative and go towards forming a context-sensitive help system for your application. (FIXME: how to actually "switch on" private tips?)

gtk_tooltips_new ()

GtkTooltips* gtk_tooltips_new               (void);

Creates an empty group of tooltips. This function initialises a GtkTooltips structure. Without at least one such structure, you can not add tips to your application.

Returns : a new GtkTooltips group for you to use.

gtk_tooltips_enable ()

void        gtk_tooltips_enable             (GtkTooltips *tooltips);

Allows the user to see your tooltips as they navigate your application.

tooltips : a GtkTooltips.

gtk_tooltips_disable ()

void        gtk_tooltips_disable            (GtkTooltips *tooltips);

Causes all tooltips in tooltips to become inactive. Any widgets that have tips associated with that group will no longer display their tips until they are enabled again with gtk_tooltips_enable().

tooltips : a GtkTooltips.

gtk_tooltips_set_delay ()

void        gtk_tooltips_set_delay          (GtkTooltips *tooltips,
                                             guint delay);

Warning

gtk_tooltips_set_delay is deprecated and should not be used in newly-written code.

Sets the time between the user moving the mouse over a widget and the widget's tooltip appearing.

tooltips : a GtkTooltips.
delay : an integer value representing milliseconds.

gtk_tooltips_set_tip ()

void        gtk_tooltips_set_tip            (GtkTooltips *tooltips,
                                             GtkWidget *widget,
                                             const gchar *tip_text,
                                             const gchar *tip_private);

Adds a tooltip containing the message tip_text to the specified GtkWidget.

tooltips : a GtkTooltips.
widget : the GtkWidget you wish to associate the tip with.
tip_text : a string containing the tip itself.
tip_private : a string of any further information that may be useful if the user gets stuck.

gtk_tooltips_data_get ()

GtkTooltipsData* gtk_tooltips_data_get      (GtkWidget *widget);

Retrieves any GtkTooltipsData previously associated with the given widget.

widget : a GtkWidget.
Returns : a GtkTooltipsData struct, or NULL if the widget has no tooltip.

gtk_tooltips_force_window ()

void        gtk_tooltips_force_window       (GtkTooltips *tooltips);

Ensures that the window used for displaying the given tooltips is created.

Applications should never have to call this function, since GTK+ takes care of this.

tooltips : a GtkToolTips

gtk_tooltips_get_info_from_tip_window ()

gboolean    gtk_tooltips_get_info_from_tip_window
                                            (GtkWindow *tip_window,
                                             GtkTooltips **tooltips,
                                             GtkWidget **current_widget);

Determines the tooltips and the widget they belong to from the window in which they are displayed.

This function is mostly intended for use by accessibility technologies; applications should have little use for it.

tip_window : a GtkWindow
tooltips : the return location for the tooltips which are displayed in tip_window, or NULL
current_widget : the return location for the widget whose tooltips are displayed, or NULL
Returns : TRUE if tip_window is displaying tooltips, otherwise FALSE.

Since 2.4

See Also

GtkToolbar

Create groups of widgets with their own tooltips.
GtkTipsQuery

Query tooltips to create context-sensitive help.