> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/ocornut/imgui/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Tooltips

> Tooltip widgets for Dear ImGui

## Tooltip Functions

Tooltips are windows following the mouse. They do not take focus away. A tooltip window can contain items of any types.

### BeginTooltip

```cpp theme={null}
bool ImGui::BeginTooltip()
```

Begin/append a tooltip window.

<ResponseField name="return" type="bool">
  Always returns true
</ResponseField>

```cpp theme={null}
// Example
if (ImGui::IsItemHovered()) {
    ImGui::BeginTooltip();
    ImGui::Text("This is a tooltip");
    ImGui::EndTooltip();
}
```

### EndTooltip

```cpp theme={null}
void ImGui::EndTooltip()
```

Close tooltip. Only call `EndTooltip()` if `BeginTooltip()` or `BeginItemTooltip()` returns true.

### SetTooltip

```cpp theme={null}
void ImGui::SetTooltip(const char* fmt, ...)
```

Set a text-only tooltip. Often used after an `ImGui::IsItemHovered()` check. Override any previous call to `SetTooltip()`.

<ParamField path="fmt" type="const char*">
  Format string (printf-style)
</ParamField>

```cpp theme={null}
// Example
ImGui::Button("Hover me");
if (ImGui::IsItemHovered()) {
    ImGui::SetTooltip("This is a button\nClick to activate");
}

// With formatted text
static int clicks = 0;
if (ImGui::Button("Click me")) {
    clicks++;
}
if (ImGui::IsItemHovered()) {
    ImGui::SetTooltip("Clicked %d times", clicks);
}
```

## Item Tooltips

Helpers for showing a tooltip when hovering an item.

### BeginItemTooltip

```cpp theme={null}
bool ImGui::BeginItemTooltip()
```

Begin/append a tooltip window if preceding item was hovered. This is a shortcut for the `if (IsItemHovered(ImGuiHoveredFlags_ForTooltip) && BeginTooltip())` idiom.

<ResponseField name="return" type="bool">
  True if tooltip should be displayed
</ResponseField>

```cpp theme={null}
// Example
ImGui::Button("Hover me");
if (ImGui::BeginItemTooltip()) {
    ImGui::Text("Button tooltip");
    ImGui::BulletText("Feature 1");
    ImGui::BulletText("Feature 2");
    ImGui::EndTooltip();
}
```

### SetItemTooltip

```cpp theme={null}
void ImGui::SetItemTooltip(const char* fmt, ...)
```

Set a text-only tooltip if preceding item was hovered. Override any previous call to `SetTooltip()`. This is a shortcut for the `if (IsItemHovered(ImGuiHoveredFlags_ForTooltip)) { SetTooltip(...); }` idiom.

<ParamField path="fmt" type="const char*">
  Format string (printf-style)
</ParamField>

```cpp theme={null}
// Example
ImGui::Button("Simple Tooltip");
ImGui::SetItemTooltip("This is a simple tooltip");

ImGui::SliderFloat("Value", &value, 0.0f, 1.0f);
ImGui::SetItemTooltip("Drag to change value\nCurrent: %.2f", value);
```

## Advanced Tooltip Examples

### Rich Content Tooltip

```cpp theme={null}
// Tooltip with multiple types of content
ImGui::Button("Rich Tooltip");
if (ImGui::BeginItemTooltip()) {
    ImGui::Text("This is a rich tooltip");
    ImGui::Separator();
    ImGui::BulletText("Feature 1");
    ImGui::BulletText("Feature 2");
    ImGui::BulletText("Feature 3");
    ImGui::Separator();
    ImGui::TextDisabled("(?) Hover for more info");
    ImGui::EndTooltip();
}
```

### Tooltip with Image

```cpp theme={null}
// Tooltip with image preview
ImGui::Button("Image Preview");
if (ImGui::BeginItemTooltip()) {
    ImGui::Text("Image Preview:");
    ImGui::Image(my_tex_id, ImVec2(256, 256));
    ImGui::Text("Size: 256x256");
    ImGui::EndTooltip();
}
```

### Conditional Tooltip

```cpp theme={null}
// Only show tooltip when conditions are met
static bool enabled = true;
ImGui::Checkbox("Enabled", &enabled);
if (ImGui::IsItemHovered() && !enabled) {
    ImGui::SetTooltip("This feature is currently disabled");
}
```

### Delayed Tooltip

```cpp theme={null}
// Tooltip with delay (using ImGuiHoveredFlags_DelayNormal)
ImGui::Button("Delayed Tooltip");
if (ImGui::IsItemHovered(ImGuiHoveredFlags_DelayNormal)) {
    ImGui::SetTooltip("This tooltip appears after a short delay");
}
```

### Stationary Tooltip

```cpp theme={null}
// Tooltip that requires mouse to be stationary
ImGui::Button("Stationary Tooltip");
if (ImGui::IsItemHovered(ImGuiHoveredFlags_Stationary)) {
    ImGui::SetTooltip("Mouse must be stationary to see this");
}
```

### Multi-line Tooltip

```cpp theme={null}
// Tooltip with multiple lines of text
ImGui::Button("Multi-line");
if (ImGui::IsItemHovered()) {
    ImGui::BeginTooltip();
    ImGui::Text("Line 1: Introduction");
    ImGui::Text("Line 2: Description");
    ImGui::Text("Line 3: Additional info");
    ImGui::Separator();
    ImGui::TextDisabled("Hint: This is a multi-line tooltip");
    ImGui::EndTooltip();
}
```

### Tooltip with Color

```cpp theme={null}
// Colored tooltip text
ImGui::Button("Colored Text");
if (ImGui::BeginItemTooltip()) {
    ImGui::TextColored(ImVec4(1, 0, 0, 1), "Error:");
    ImGui::SameLine();
    ImGui::Text("Something went wrong");
    ImGui::EndTooltip();
}
```

### Table in Tooltip

```cpp theme={null}
// Tooltip containing a table
ImGui::Button("Table Tooltip");
if (ImGui::BeginItemTooltip()) {
    if (ImGui::BeginTable("tooltip_table", 2)) {
        ImGui::TableNextRow();
        ImGui::TableNextColumn(); ImGui::Text("Property");
        ImGui::TableNextColumn(); ImGui::Text("Value");
        
        ImGui::TableNextRow();
        ImGui::TableNextColumn(); ImGui::Text("Name:");
        ImGui::TableNextColumn(); ImGui::Text("MyObject");
        
        ImGui::TableNextRow();
        ImGui::TableNextColumn(); ImGui::Text("Size:");
        ImGui::TableNextColumn(); ImGui::Text("1024 bytes");
        
        ImGui::EndTable();
    }
    ImGui::EndTooltip();
}
```

### Help Marker

```cpp theme={null}
// Reusable help marker function
void HelpMarker(const char* desc) {
    ImGui::TextDisabled("(?)");
    if (ImGui::BeginItemTooltip()) {
        ImGui::PushTextWrapPos(ImGui::GetFontSize() * 35.0f);
        ImGui::TextUnformatted(desc);
        ImGui::PopTextWrapPos();
        ImGui::EndTooltip();
    }
}

// Usage
ImGui::Text("Some setting");
ImGui::SameLine();
HelpMarker("This is a detailed explanation of what this setting does and how to use it properly.");
```

## Tooltip Behavior

### Default Behavior

* By default, tooltips use `style.HoverFlagsForTooltipMouse` flags when using mouse input
* For keyboard/gamepad navigation, `style.HoverFlagsForTooltipNav` flags are used
* The default for mouse is `ImGuiHoveredFlags_Stationary | ImGuiHoveredFlags_DelayShort`

### Customizing Tooltip Timing

You can customize when tooltips appear by using different `ImGuiHoveredFlags`:

```cpp theme={null}
// Immediate tooltip (no delay)
if (ImGui::IsItemHovered(ImGuiHoveredFlags_DelayNone)) {
    ImGui::SetTooltip("Appears immediately");
}

// Short delay (default for tooltips)
if (ImGui::IsItemHovered(ImGuiHoveredFlags_DelayShort)) {
    ImGui::SetTooltip("Appears after ~0.15 sec");
}

// Normal delay
if (ImGui::IsItemHovered(ImGuiHoveredFlags_DelayNormal)) {
    ImGui::SetTooltip("Appears after ~0.40 sec");
}

// Requires stationary mouse
if (ImGui::IsItemHovered(ImGuiHoveredFlags_Stationary | ImGuiHoveredFlags_DelayNormal)) {
    ImGui::SetTooltip("Requires mouse to be still");
}
```

### Tooltip on Disabled Items

```cpp theme={null}
// Show tooltip even when item is disabled
ImGui::BeginDisabled();
ImGui::Button("Disabled Button");
ImGui::EndDisabled();

if (ImGui::IsItemHovered(ImGuiHoveredFlags_AllowWhenDisabled)) {
    ImGui::SetTooltip("This button is currently disabled");
}
```

## Best Practices

1. Use `SetItemTooltip()` for simple text-only tooltips after a widget
2. Use `BeginItemTooltip()` / `EndTooltip()` for rich content tooltips
3. Keep tooltip text concise and informative
4. Use `ImGuiHoveredFlags_ForTooltip` for consistent tooltip behavior
5. Consider using delays for frequently hovered items to reduce visual noise
6. Wrap long text in tooltips using `PushTextWrapPos()`
7. Use help markers `(?)` for additional documentation that doesn't fit in labels