What Does Tooltip Mean?
A tooltip is a graphical user interface (GUI) element used in conjunction with the cursor or mouse pointer to display information about an item without needing to click on it. The typical scenario for summoning a tooltip is to hover the mouse cursor over another GUI element such as a tool icon in software application, and it is also prevalently used in websites.
Techopedia Explains Tooltip
Depending on the application, the tooltip can display anything from the full name of the object the mouse is hovering on, to displaying additional information or a detailed explanation on what that tool or object does. For example, in Windows Explorer when hovering the mouse over a file, the details of that file such as the format type, size and date modified fields are displayed, and hovering the mouse over the local drive partition displays the free space and total size of the drive. Microsoft refers to their tooltips as “ScreenTips.” They are called tooltips because they are usually implemented to provide contextual and usage information to the various tools in an application without having to consult lengthy manuals and other documentation.
