layout: docs title: Tooltips description: Documentation and examples for adding custom Bootstrap tooltips with CSS and JavaScript using CSS3 for animations and data-attributes for local title storage. group: components toc: true

Overview

Things to know when using the tooltip plugin:

  • Tooltips rely on the 3rd party library Popper.js for positioning. You must include [popper.min.js]({{ site.cdn.popper }}) before bootstrap.js or use bootstrap.bundle.min.js / bootstrap.bundle.js which contains Popper.js in order for tooltips to work!
  • If you're building our JavaScript from source, it [requires util.js]({{ site.baseurl }}/docs/{{ site.docs_version }}/getting-started/javascript/#util).
  • Tooltips are opt-in for performance reasons, so you must initialize them yourself.
  • Tooltips with zero-length titles are never displayed.
  • Specify container: 'body' to avoid rendering problems in more complex components (like our input groups, button groups, etc).
  • Triggering tooltips on hidden elements will not work.
  • Tooltips for .disabled or disabled elements must be triggered on a wrapper element.
  • When triggered from hyperlinks that span multiple lines, tooltips will be centered. Use white-space: nowrap; on your <a>s to avoid this behavior.
  • Tooltips must be hidden before their corresponding elements have been removed from the DOM.
  • Tooltips can be triggered thanks to an element inside a shadow DOM.

{% include callout-info-prefersreducedmotion.md %}

Got all that? Great, let's see how they work with some examples.

Example: Enable tooltips everywhere

One way to initialize all tooltips on a page would be to select them by their data-toggle attribute:

{% highlight js %} $(function () { $(‘[data-toggle=“tooltip”]’).tooltip() }) {% endhighlight %}

Examples

Hover over the links below to see tooltips:

Hover over the buttons below to see the four tooltips directions: top, right, bottom, and left.

{% highlight html %} Tooltip on top Tooltip on right Tooltip on bottom Tooltip on left {% endhighlight %}

And with custom HTML added:

{% highlight html %} Tooltip with HTML {% endhighlight %}

Usage

The tooltip plugin generates content and markup on demand, and by default places tooltips after their trigger element.

Trigger the tooltip via JavaScript:

{% highlight js %} $(‘#example’).tooltip(options) {% endhighlight %}

{% capture callout %}

Overflow auto and scroll

Tooltip position attempts to automatically change when a parent container has overflow: auto or overflow: scroll like our .table-responsive, but still keeps the original placement's positioning. To resolve, set the boundary option to anything other than default value, 'scrollParent', such as 'window':

{% highlight js %} $(‘#example’).tooltip({ boundary: ‘window’ }) {% endhighlight %} {% endcapture %} {% include callout.html content=callout type=“warning” %}

Markup

The required markup for a tooltip is only a data attribute and title on the HTML element you wish to have a tooltip. The generated markup of a tooltip is rather simple, though it does require a position (by default, set to top by the plugin).

{% capture callout %}

Making tooltips work for keyboard and assistive technology users

You should only add tooltips to HTML elements that are traditionally keyboard-focusable and interactive (such as links or form controls). Although arbitrary HTML elements (such as <span>s) can be made focusable by adding the tabindex="0" attribute, this will add potentially annoying and confusing tab stops on non-interactive elements for keyboard users. In addition, most assistive technologies currently do not announce the tooltip in this situation.

Additionally, do not rely solely on hover as the trigger for your tooltip, as this will make your tooltips impossible to trigger for keyboard users. {% endcapture %} {% include callout.html content=callout type=“warning” %}

{% highlight html %}

Hover over me

Disabled elements

Elements with the disabled attribute aren‘t interactive, meaning users cannot focus, hover, or click them to trigger a tooltip (or popover). As a workaround, you’ll want to trigger the tooltip from a wrapper <div> or <span>, ideally made keyboard-focusable using tabindex="0", and override the pointer-events on the disabled element.

Options

Options can be passed via data attributes or JavaScript. For data attributes, append the option name to data-, as in data-animation="".

{% capture callout %}

Data attributes for individual tooltips

Options for individual tooltips can alternatively be specified through the use of data attributes, as explained above. {% endcapture %} {% include callout.html content=callout type=“info” %}

Methods

{% include callout-danger-async-methods.md %}

$().tooltip(options)

Attaches a tooltip handler to an element collection.

.tooltip('show')

Reveals an element's tooltip. Returns to the caller before the tooltip has actually been shown (i.e. before the shown.bs.tooltip event occurs). This is considered a “manual” triggering of the tooltip. Tooltips with zero-length titles are never displayed.

{% highlight js %}$(‘#element’).tooltip(‘show’){% endhighlight %}

.tooltip('hide')

Hides an element's tooltip. Returns to the caller before the tooltip has actually been hidden (i.e. before the hidden.bs.tooltip event occurs). This is considered a “manual” triggering of the tooltip.

{% highlight js %}$(‘#element’).tooltip(‘hide’){% endhighlight %}

.tooltip('toggle')

Toggles an element's tooltip. Returns to the caller before the tooltip has actually been shown or hidden (i.e. before the shown.bs.tooltip or hidden.bs.tooltip event occurs). This is considered a “manual” triggering of the tooltip.

{% highlight js %}$(‘#element’).tooltip(‘toggle’){% endhighlight %}

.tooltip('dispose')

Hides and destroys an element's tooltip. Tooltips that use delegation (which are created using the selector option) cannot be individually destroyed on descendant trigger elements.

{% highlight js %}$(‘#element’).tooltip(‘dispose’){% endhighlight %}

.tooltip('enable')

Gives an element's tooltip the ability to be shown. Tooltips are enabled by default.

{% highlight js %}$(‘#element’).tooltip(‘enable’){% endhighlight %}

.tooltip('disable')

Removes the ability for an element's tooltip to be shown. The tooltip will only be able to be shown if it is re-enabled.

{% highlight js %}$(‘#element’).tooltip(‘disable’){% endhighlight %}

.tooltip('toggleEnabled')

Toggles the ability for an element's tooltip to be shown or hidden.

{% highlight js %}$(‘#element’).tooltip(‘toggleEnabled’){% endhighlight %}

.tooltip('update')

Updates the position of an element's tooltip.

{% highlight js %}$(‘#element’).tooltip(‘update’){% endhighlight %}

Events

{% highlight js %} $(‘#myTooltip’).on(‘hidden.bs.tooltip’, function () { // do something... }) {% endhighlight %}