Hint ( English tooltip, hint ) - an element of the graphical interface , serves as an additional means of user training.
Types of hints:
Typical tooltip usage example
- tooltip - appears when you move the cursor to the object of interest or in case of an invalid action (for example, entering text instead of a number), in the case of editors with auto-completion, tooltips can appear when entering the names of functions and variables , indicating their characteristics (type, prototype, number and type of arguments , etc.);
- prompt at startup - a window that appears after the program starts, showing a short text on unusual or non-standard features of the program, usually each time the text changes, allowing the user to explore the capabilities of the program “walking”, in some cases, a window with text that requires special actions to close, can be considered annoying by users;
- contextual - in some types of command line interfaces - appearing when you enter a command and a question mark, while the entered text does not disappear, and a tooltip appears above the entered text, allowing you to understand which characters should be entered next.