How to create dynamic tooltips in OutSystems that appear on hover or focus?

Creating Dynamic Tooltips in OutSystems

Creating dynamic tooltips in OutSystems that appear on hover or focus involves utilizing the platform's capabilities for creating interactive web applications. This step-by-step guide will walk you through the process of implementing tooltips that provide users with additional information dynamically.

Prerequisites

• An OutSystems account with access to the Service Studio environment.
• Basic understanding of OutSystems UI components and client-side logic.
• Familiarity with basic HTML and JavaScript to customize tooltip behavior.

Understanding Tooltips in OutSystems

• Tooltips provide additional information about an element when the user hovers over or focuses on it.
• They can be used to enhance user experience by clarifying the function of buttons, form fields, etc.

Setting Up Your OutSystems Environment

• Open your OutSystems Service Studio and select the application where you want to add dynamic tooltips.
• Ensure you have created a screen or page where the tooltips will be implemented.
• Prepare any data or static content you wish to display in the tooltips.

Adding a Tooltip to an Element

• Select the screen element (e.g., button, input field) to which you want to add a tooltip.
• In the Properties panel, locate the "Title" or "Extended Properties" field to add basic static tooltip text. This is not yet dynamic, but useful for testing.
• Enter a simple text string that users will see when they hover over the element.

Making Tooltips Dynamic

• To create dynamic content, you will need to use JavaScript or OutSystems expressions that reference variable data.
• Create a Local Variable in your screen to hold the dynamic text for the tooltip.
• Using OutSystems expressions, bind the tooltip display to this Local Variable:

  "tooltip-text=" + YourLocalVariable
  

• Add a script to dynamically update the Local Variable based on user interaction or other logic:

    function updateTooltip(elementId, newTooltipText) {
        var element = document.getElementById(elementId);
        if (element) {
            element.setAttribute('title', newTooltipText);
        }
    }
    

• Call this script on hover or focus events using OutSystems "On Ready" or "On Change" actions.

Customizing Tooltip Appearance

• OutSystems provides basic styling of tooltips via CSS. You can modify these styles globally or specifically for your tooltips:

  .tooltip-custom {
      background-color: #333;
      color: #fff;
      padding: 5px;
      border-radius: 4px;
      font-size: 14px;
  }
  

• Add the class "tooltip-custom" to your element via Extended Properties for customized styling.

Testing the Dynamic Tooltip

• Launch your application in a test environment within OutSystems Service Studio.
• Navigate to the page with the dynamic tooltip and verify its appearance and behavior during hover or focus events.
• Ensure that the tooltip updates dynamically as intended based on variable changes or logic triggers.

Deploying Your Application with Tooltips

• Once testing is complete, proceed to deploy your application to the production environment in OutSystems.
• Validate the deployment by testing the tooltip functionality across different browsers and devices.
• Ensure that any security considerations for displaying dynamic content in tooltips are addressed before finalizing deployment.

By following these steps, you can effectively implement dynamic tooltips within your OutSystems application, enhancing user interaction and usability by providing informative hover or focus tooltips.