scripted Show tooltip not a thing?

[David V Glasgow]

I rather lazily didn’t post an update, but on reflection I had already decided to do exactly what you recommend, Richard.  

Your advice isn’t wasted because my thinking about why it is the best thing to do wasn’t that clear.  It is an important UI point you make about advice only being  useful as an antecedent of choice.  Also, since I have avoided flippy flappy tooltips in my rather control-crowded app, it makes zero sense to have one exception which users would have no knowledge of, or reason to find until they stumble upon it.  And then maybe wonder why the same doesn’t happen elsewhere.

Why is it so easy to design a bad UI, when it is such a pleasure to experience a good one?

Thanks,

David G

> On 14 Jan 2022, at 10:33 pm, Richard Gaskin via use-livecode <use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
> 
> Tooltips can be a solution, but the mechanism has some limitations in this context.
> 
> First, tooltips are a sort of hidden feature, where the user discovers them only after moving the mouse over the object.  Prior to that moment they're invisible, offering no guidance at all.
> 
> And in this case, the good explanatory text you're offering can't be seen until after the user commits to a choice, but that explanation would seem helpful to guide them to making that choice.
> 
> If space permits, you could consider adding the explanatory text in parentheses after the symbol directly in the control:
> 
>  -------------------------
>  | = (Equals)            |
>  | ≤ (Is at least)       |
>  | ≅ (Is approximately)  |
>  -------------------------
> 
> This would allow users to fully grasp the implications of a choice before making it.
> 
> -- 
> Richard Gaskin
> Fourth World Systems
> 
> 
> avid Glasgow wrote:
> 
>> I have an app in which tooltips are generally off.  I also have a button menu which allows the selection of equality/inequelity.  Users are non technical, and on selection (i.e. not the usual hover) I wanted to pop up a brief tooltip describing the selected item in ordinary language (irrespective of whether tooltips are globally on or off):
>> on menuPick pChosenItem
>>   set the label of me to pChosenitem
>>   switch
>>      case pChosenItem = "="
>>         set the tooltip of me to "Equals"
>>         break
>>      case pChosenItem = "≤"
>>         set the tooltip of me to  “Is at least"
>>         break
>>      case pChosenItem = "≅"
>>         set the tooltip of me to “Is approximately"
>>         break
>>   end switch
>>   set the tooltipdelay to 500
>>   show the tooltip of me
>>   set the tooltip delay to 0
>> end menuPick
>> It seems  show the tooltip of me isn’t a thing.  I appreciate that I could show and hide an ordinary field, but I wondered if I have overlooked a suitable message and/or syntax that will enable what I want. Best Wishes,
>> David Glasgow
> 
> 
> 
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