Tooltip for groups

jbv jbv.silences at Club-Internet.fr
Sat Nov 15 14:10:48 EST 2003



Scott,

> I haven't been following this discussion in detail, but will the individual
> objects in the group have tooltips separate from the group?  If so, how will
> the user know when a tooltip applies only to an object versus the group?  I
> would say, from a usability standpoint, it would be effective to use
> Jacqueline's technique since mousing *near* the group could provide a
> tooltip separate from the individual objects.

I don't think this is an issue. Or better said : one should not confuse the
logic behind programing vs the logic behind using an app...
I mean : there's a logic behind any user interface, and in a specific context,
when end users point at an object, it should be clear what the tooltip applies
to.
OTOH, from a programer's point of view, groups can be used for many
tricks, like gathering several objects that will be viewed by end users as
1 single entity, whose content may vary slightly over time... In that case,
using a single tooltip will save quite a lot of time and scripting...

>
>
> If you really wanted to get "regional" you could create a transparent image
> as your group tooltip object that contained opaque regions corresponding to
> the locations of all objects in the real group.  If you then enlarged those
> opaque regions all around (similar to applying a 20 pixel stroke to draw
> graphic) and placed this image behind your group, the group tooltip would
> respond only when the mouse came within 10 pixels of any object, not just
> when entering the overall rect of the group.
>

OK. But honestly, don't you think that being able to toggle between group
tooltip and individual objects tooltips (by changing a single property) would
make things A LOT easier ?

Best,
JB



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