hTooltip Code Samples

Quick start

CTooltip is the core class in the hTooltip library. It is used to create the tooltip windows for your controls. If you need a tooltip, create an instance of this class, set the properties of the tooltip (such as its text, color, etc.) and attach it to the required control.

For instance, if you need a balloon tooltip for a command button named Command1, the code in your form will look like the following:

Private objTT As CTooltip

Private Sub Form_Load()
   Set objTT = New CTooltip
   
   objTT.Text = "My first balloon tooltip"
   objTT.Style = httStyleBalloon
   
   objTT.CreateForVBCtrl Command1
End Sub

The result is on the picture below:

Displaying a tooltip on demand

In some cases, you need to display a tooltip from your code at the moment when you need it but not when the user pauses the mouse inside the control for some time. For example, you may display a message to the user after checking the entered password when the user clicks the 'Log in' button:

With hTooltip you can set any tooltip as a display-on-demand tooltip with the DisplayOnDemand property and then show it later with the Show method.

The tooltip in the sample above was created with the following code:

Set objTT = New CTooltip

With objTT
   .Title = "Did you forget your password?"
   .Text = "Please type your password again." & vbCrLf & _
      "Be sure to use the correct uppercase and lowercase letters."
   .Icon = httIconError
   .Style = httStyleBalloon
   .DisplayOnDemand = True
End With

objTT.CreateForVBCtrl txtPassword

If the entered password is incorrect, the tooltip's window is displayed at the specified point with the Show method from the button's Click event handler:

objTT.Show txtPassword.Width * 0.2, txtPassword.Height * 0.7

The MouseEnter and MouseLeave events

Each hTooltip tooltip object raises the MouseEnter and MouseLeave events for the control or rectangular area it is attached to.

If you define a tooltip for a Label control like this:

Private WithEvents objTT As CTooltip

Private Sub Form_Load()
   Set objTT = New CTooltip
   objTT.Text = "Tooltip text"
   objTT.CreateForVBCtrl Label1
End Sub

, the MouseEnter and MouseLeave events will let you know when the mouse pointer entered and left the area occupied by the Label control. This can be used to display the corresponding messages in the status bar:

Private Sub objTT_MouseEnter()
   StatusBar1.SimpleText = "The mouse pointer entered the Label"
End Sub

Private Sub objTT_MouseLeave()
   StatusBar1.SimpleText = "The mouse pointer left the Label"
End Sub

These events are especially useful and significantly simplify your code if you need such a functionality and your form is cluttered with many controls!

The DefaultTooltip object

In most cases all the tooltips in your app have the same look and functionality. The DeafultTooltip global object implemented by the hTooltip library can be used to specify the default properties for all the tooltips in your app. You do it in one place and the tooltips created later use these default settings automatically:

With DefaultTooltip
   .DelayTime = 50
   .VisibleTime = 7000
   .BackColor = vbBlue
   .ForeColor = vbWhite
   .Centered = True
   .Style = httStyleBalloon
End With

Set objTT1 = New CTooltip
objTT1.Text = "Command1"
objTT1.CreateForVBCtrl Command1

Set objTT2 = New CTooltip
objTT2.Text = "Command2"
objTT2.CreateForVBCtrl Command2

In the code above the tooltips for the command buttons Command1 and Command2 will have the blue background color, the balloon style, the same time parameters, etc.

Notice that the DefaultTooltip object is accessible in your VB code without preliminary declaration as it is a global object.

Compatibility »