Tooltips in Windows Feb05 '07

I don't often talk enough about Windows on this site, and that's not intentional - it's just that I use a Mac more often for computing.

A feature that's useful in Windows is the ability to hover over a folder or file, and immediately see the file size as a "tooltip."

Screenshot of Windows Explorer

This is extremely useful for me, because I am almost always concerned with file size, when moving or saving files and folders. It's information that I need immediately - at a glance.

Mac OS X requires you to use a menu command: File > Get Info; or keyboard combination: Command + I.

This is too many steps. Plus, once you do that, you still have to scan the Get Info window for the file size, because it's not immediately visible. It's buried amongst other things.

Screenshot of Mac OS X Get Info window

Tooltips are extremely useful on desktop applications, as well as web sites. Most of the links on this site have tooltips that further explain the meaning of the link, or provide contextual information.

I've discussed this before: TITLE attribute for everything.

Categories: Mac OS X , Usability , Windows

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matthom is published and produced by Matt Thommes - an independent publishing enthusiast, mobile blogger, content creator, informative writer, web developer from Chicago. Never one to conform, Matt intends to promote the effect the web has on our lives, in an effort to intensify, instruct, and clarify all that is happening around us.