[wxPython-users] Custom tooltip issues

[Robin Dunn]

Christopher Barker wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I'm trying to work out how to use tooltips with wx.lib.floatcanvas. As I 
> was thinking about this, Martin Spacek posted a sample of how to do it 
> with wx and matplotlib to the MPL list.
> 
> However, his methods don't quite work right on wxGTK. I've been playing 
> around with this, and am not getting it to work like I want it to. 
> Ideally, I want to be able to pop up a tooltip wherever and whenever I 
> want, but it's looking to be impossible. I'm guessing that wx.ToolTip is 
> using the native tooltip support, and thus has little control over 
> behavior.
> 
> I have a few  particular issues, maybe someone has some ideas of how to 
> improve them. Enclosed is a small demo app. It has two panels, each with 
> slightly different tooltip behavior attempted.
> 
> The top panel shows a tooltip when the mouse is clicked. This works OK. 
> However, getting it to go away is a trick. I tried to use:
> 
> wx.TipWindow.SetBoundingRect()
> 
> but it seems to have the opposite behavior than I expected. Now the tip 
> window goes away when the mouse passes over the tip, NOT when it leaves 
> the region specified by the rect. What am I doing wrong?

First the rect needs to be in screen coords, not client coords.  If you 
change it to look like this then it works on Windows:

         pt = self.ClientToScreen(event.GetPosition())
         r = wx.RectPS(pt, (10,10))
         self.tooltip.SetBoundingRect(r)

I'm not sure what's going on with the other platforms though.  Looks 
like it isn't capturing the mouse or or is losing the capture or 
something...


> 
> I also tried to have the TipWindow destroyed when the mouse left the 
> window, but it seems I don't get the EVT_LEAVE_WINDOW when the tooltip 
> is active -- weird. I also don't know how to make it go away -- should 
> .Destroy() work?

It has a Close method that should be used instead.


> 
> The bottom Panel has a tooltip that shows the mouse coords. Ideally it 
> would follow the mouse around. I think that works on Windows, but on 
> wxGTK, it follows the x-coord, but stays at the bottom of the Panel. Can 
> I fix that?

That is a limitation of GTK, or how wxGTK is using it, or something like 
that.  When you're using a tooltip for a smallish control then putting 
the tip at the bottom edge of the control is fine, but I agree that it 
is not so nice for larger items...

> 
> Also, I tried to make it so the tip would only show when the mouse was 
> over the rectangle, but once ToolTip.Enable(False) is called, 
> ToolTip.Enable(True) doesn't bring it back.
> 
> Can anyone figure out how to do this on all platforms? (wxMac is worse, 
> I think)
> 
> I also wonder what the "global" means with that call:
> 
> """
> wxToolTip::Enable
> 
> Enable or disable tooltips globally.
> """
> 
> Global to what? the application? the Window? the Frame?

The application.

> 
> If none of this can be made to work right, is it possible to make a 
> Custom pop-up Window that looks like a tooltip?

wx.TipWindow is essentially either a wx.PopupTransientWindow, or a 
wx.Frame (on mac where there isn't a popup window implementation yet.) 
so it shouldn't be too hard to roll your own however you like.

-- 
Robin Dunn
Software Craftsman
http://wxPython.org  Java give you jitters?  Relax with wxPython!