COXToolTipCtrl Overview
This class is a free sample from Dundas Software's Ultimate Toolbox. Copyright © Dundas Software Ltd. 1997-1999, All Rights Reserved
COXToolTipCtrl
is an extended tooltip control that allows multiline tooltips, plus extended tooltip text. Extended tooltip text is extra text that is displayed if the user clicks on the tooltip window. If the tooltip contains extended text (as well as a standard tooltip string) then the info window will contain a small arrow that prompts the user to click on the window. Once the window is clicked, the extended text is shown. If the window is clicked again then the window reduces to showing just the standard text.
The maximum width of the tooltips can be specified, and if the info text is too big to fit within these bounds then the text will be wrapped over multiple lines. The control also allows you to specify a different text and background colors for the tooltips, and the display font can also be changed.
This class is a direct replacement for the CToolTipCtrl
class. It incorporates the entire API of the standard CToolTipCtrl
, and introduces new features not found in the standard tooltip.
The control is used just like any other tooltip control. To use the tool simply call Create(...)
and specify the parent window of the tool, then add tools to the control using the AddTool(...)
member function. eg. (In a formview or dialog)
tooltip.Create(this)
tooltip.AddTool(GetDlgItem(IDC_CONTROL),
_T("Tooltip text\rThis is the extended\ntooltip text"));
where ID_CONTROL
is the ID of a control.
To specify extended text for a tooltip, simply append a '\r' after your tooltip text, and then append the extended tooltip info.
As with the standard tooltip control you can specify the actual text for the tool at creation time (as shown above), or you can specify the LPSTR_TEXTCALLBACK
value and provide a TTN_NEEDTEXT
handler to return the text dynamically at runtime.
To handle the TTN_NEEDTEXT
message, you will need to add a message handler in the parent window, and an entry in the message map, eg. in you view or form
BEGIN_MESSAGE_MAP(CMyDlg, CDialog)
...
ON_NOTIFY_EX( TTN_NEEDTEXT, 0, OnToolTipNotify)
END_MESSAGE_MAP()
BOOL CMyDlg::OnInitDialog()
{
CDialog::OnInitDialog();
tooltip.Create(this);
tooltip.AddTool(GetDlgItem(IDC_CONTROL), LPSTR_TEXTCALLBACK);
...
}
BOOL CMyDlg::OnToolTipNotify(UINT id, NMHDR* pNMHDR, LRESULT* pResult)
{
TOOLTIPTEXT *pTTT = (TOOLTIPTEXT *)pNMHDR;
UINT nID = pNMHDR->idFrom;
if (nID == IDC_CONTROL)
{
_tcscpy(pTTT->szText, _T("Tooltip text\rExtended tooltip text"));
return TRUE;
}
return FALSE;
}
You can also supply text two alternate ways, either by supplying a string resource
pTTT->lpszText = MAKEINTRESOURCE(nID);
pTTT->hinst = AfxGetResourceHandle();
return TRUE;
or by supplying a pointer to the text:
pTTT->lpszText = _T("Tooltip text\rExtended tooltip text");
return TRUE;
Newline characters ('\n') can be embedded anywhere within the text or extended text to produce a multiline tooltip. If the width of the tooltip window is specified using SetMaxTipWidth()
then the tooltip text will be wrapped to this length, and if necessary displayed on more than one line.
To change the font of the tooltips simply use the SetFont()
member function.
The GetToolInfo/SetToolInfo
functions, and the HitTest
functions are very similar to the CToolTipCtrl
versions except that they use a OXTOOLINFO
structure instead of a TOOLINFO
structure. This structure is defined as
struct
OXTOOLINFO : public TOOLINFO {
#if
(_WIN32_IE < 0x0300)
LPARAM lParam;
#endif
int nWidth;
COLORREF clrTextColor;
COLORREF clrBackColor;
}
and so is very similar to the standard TOOLINFO
, and is used in the same way, with the exception that the uFlags member is not (yet) used.
To change the color of an individual tip, use the GetToolInfo/SetToolInfo
functions
OXTOOLINFO ToolInfo;
if (m_toolTip.GetToolInfo(ToolInfo, GetDlgItem(IDC_CONTROL)))
{
ToolInfo.clrBackColor = RGB(255, 255, 255);
ToolInfo.clrTextColor = RGB( 0, 0, 255);
m_toolTip.SetToolInfo(&ToolInfo);
}
Chris Maunder is the co-founder of
CodeProject, DeveloperMedia and ContentLab, and has been a prominent figure in the software development community for nearly 30 years. Hailing from Australia, Chris has a background in Mathematics, Astrophysics, Environmental Engineering and Defence Research. His programming endeavours span everything from FORTRAN on Super Computers, C++/MFC on Windows, through to to high-load .NET web applications and Python AI applications on everything from macOS to a Raspberry Pi. Chris is a full-stack developer who is as comfortable with SQL as he is with CSS.
In the late 1990s, he and his business partner David Cunningham recognized the need for a platform that would facilitate knowledge-sharing among developers, leading to the establishment of CodeProject.com in 1999. Chris's expertise in programming and his passion for fostering a collaborative environment have played a pivotal role in the success of CodeProject.com. Over the years, the website has grown into a vibrant community where programmers worldwide can connect, exchange ideas, and find solutions to coding challenges. Chris is a prolific contributor to the developer community through his articles and tutorials, and his latest passion project,
CodeProject.AI.
In addition to his work with CodeProject.com, Chris co-founded ContentLab and DeveloperMedia, two projects focussed on helping companies make their Software Projects a success. While at CodeProject, Chris' roles included Architecture and coding, Product Development, Content Creation, Community Growth, Client Satisfaction and Systems Automation, and many, many sales meetings. All while keeping his sense of humour.