Using tooltips in Java AWT

31 Oct 2023

Tooltips are small informational pop-ups that provide additional context or details about UI elements when the user hovers over them with a mouse pointer. In Java AWT (Abstract Window Toolkit), you can easily add tooltips to components such as buttons, labels, text fields, and more.

Here’s an example of how to use tooltips in Java AWT:

import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;

public class TooltipsExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // Create a frame
        JFrame frame = new JFrame("Tooltips Example");

        // Create a button with a tooltip
        JButton button = new JButton("Click Me");
        button.setToolTipText("This is a button");

        // Add the button to the frame
        frame.getContentPane().add(button);

        // Set frame properties and display it
        frame.setSize(300, 200);
        frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        frame.setVisible(true);
    }
}

In the code above, we create a JFrame and add a JButton to it. We set the tooltip text for the button using the setToolTipText method, which takes a string as an argument. When the user hovers over the button with the mouse pointer, the tooltip will be displayed.

Tooltips are a great way to provide helpful hints or explanations for UI elements, improving the user experience and making your application more intuitive to use.

Conclusion

Tooltips are a useful feature in Java AWT for providing additional information or context about UI elements. By using the setToolTipText method, you can easily add tooltips to components in your Java AWT application. Incorporating tooltips can enhance the usability and user-friendliness of your application.

References:

Java AWT Documentation: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/awt/package-summary.html
Java AWT Tutorial: https://www.javatpoint.com/java-awt-tutorial

#java #awt