CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#winformsuser-interfacetooltip
Derek W
Derek W

Reputation: 10026

Alert user to available ToolTip information

So typically when developing a user interface using WinForms, if there is any additional information about a particular control that I would like to share with the user - I will associate text via the ToolTip class.

However, sometimes the user understandably does not realize that there is additional information available about the control.

For example, I have found that users become confused by TextBox controls on forms that are ReadOnly despite the BackColor being set to Control by default. Users will begin typing into them and believe something is broken about the application.

I believe that I could circumnavigate this issue with users if I could somehow alert them to ToolTip text being available for the TextBox. Similar to how the ErrorProvider class alerts users with the Error Glyph. The user is prompted to inspect the control due to the glyph.

enter image description here

It seems that the ToolTip class doesn't have a way of associating an icon like this to a given control out of the box.

enter image description here

I'm not against extending the ToolTip class myself, but I suspect that I haven't been the first person to encounter this issue. Perhaps there is a better way to alert users to additional information than my current route.

So my questions are:

  1. Is there an existing solution that accomplishes this already available?
  2. Is there a better way entirely of alerting users to available additional information than visually prompting them like this?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 97

Answers (1)

floele
floele

Reputation: 3788

For example, I have found that users become confused by TextBox controls on forms that are ReadOnly despite the BackColor being set to Control by default.

This is a common issue. Typically, it is recommended to not only set ReadOnly to true, but also remove the control border (setting BorderStyle to None). This gives a much clearer visual hint.

Is there an existing solution that accomplishes this already available?

I'd say it depends on the issue you face. However, "baloon tips" may be a nice solution: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa511451.aspx

You can activate them using the IsBalloon property.

Is there a better way entirely of alerting users to available additional information than visually prompting them like this?

Often there is, it depends on the situation. You should check the MS UX Guidelines (also downloadable as PDF).

Upvotes: 1

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