Recommended Reading

• Armstrong, Strohm. "Previewing the Common Controls DLL for Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, Part II." Microsoft Systems Journal, November 1996.

  Describes the new tooltip features provided by Internet Explorer 4.0 and Windows 98. These features include custom drawing; the ability to have the tooltip track along with the mouse (probably not a good idea); and the ability to set margins, maximum width, and text and background colors.

• Cooper, Alan. About Face: The Essentials of User Interface Design. Foster City, CA: IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., 1995.

  Chapter 23, "Toolbars," has a good discussion about tooltips, primarily with respect to providing help for toolbars. There is also a good discussion of tooltips vs. balloon help and why tooltips are better. He describes tooltips as "one of the cleverest and most-effective user interface idioms I've ever seen."

• Jack, Roger. "Tiptoe Through the Tooltips with Our All-Encompassing ToolTip Programmer's Guide." Microsoft Systems Journal, April 1997.

  Provides useful information on how to implement tooltips, data tips, and title tips using MFC.

• Krzeminski, Damian. "Tooltips for Any MFC Window." Windows Developer's Journal, June 1997.

  Presents an MFC class to add tooltips to any MFC window.