How do I display tooltips in Tkinter?

Tooltips are those little bits of text that popup when the mouse hovers over a widget for a certain duration of time.

How can I add a tooltip message to my tkinter Python application?

Example of tooltip


I tried the code in the blog post mentioned by ars, and also tried the code from the IDLE lib.

While both worked, I didn't like how the tooltip from IDLE was limited in size (had to manually enter new lines as separate lists) , and how the tips appeared immediately in the code form the blog post.

So I made a hybrid between the two. It lets you specify a wrap length and hover time, with no restriction on each:

""" tk_ToolTip_class101.py
gives a Tkinter widget a tooltip as the mouse is above the widget
tested with Python27 and Python34  by  vegaseat  09sep2014
www.daniweb.com/programming/software-development/code/484591/a-tooltip-class-for-tkinter

Modified to include a delay time by Victor Zaccardo, 25mar16
"""

try:
    # for Python2
    import Tkinter as tk
except ImportError:
    # for Python3
    import tkinter as tk

class CreateToolTip(object):
    """
    create a tooltip for a given widget
    """
    def __init__(self, widget, text='widget info'):
        self.waittime = 500     #miliseconds
        self.wraplength = 180   #pixels
        self.widget = widget
        self.text = text
        self.widget.bind("<Enter>", self.enter)
        self.widget.bind("<Leave>", self.leave)
        self.widget.bind("<ButtonPress>", self.leave)
        self.id = None
        self.tw = None

    def enter(self, event=None):
        self.schedule()

    def leave(self, event=None):
        self.unschedule()
        self.hidetip()

    def schedule(self):
        self.unschedule()
        self.id = self.widget.after(self.waittime, self.showtip)

    def unschedule(self):
        id = self.id
        self.id = None
        if id:
            self.widget.after_cancel(id)

    def showtip(self, event=None):
        x = y = 0
        x, y, cx, cy = self.widget.bbox("insert")
        x += self.widget.winfo_rootx() + 25
        y += self.widget.winfo_rooty() + 20
        # creates a toplevel window
        self.tw = tk.Toplevel(self.widget)
        # Leaves only the label and removes the app window
        self.tw.wm_overrideredirect(True)
        self.tw.wm_geometry("+%d+%d" % (x, y))
        label = tk.Label(self.tw, text=self.text, justify='left',
                       background="#ffffff", relief='solid', borderwidth=1,
                       wraplength = self.wraplength)
        label.pack(ipadx=1)

    def hidetip(self):
        tw = self.tw
        self.tw= None
        if tw:
            tw.destroy()

# testing ...
if __name__ == '__main__':
    root = tk.Tk()
    btn1 = tk.Button(root, text="button 1")
    btn1.pack(padx=10, pady=5)
    button1_ttp = CreateToolTip(btn1, \
   'Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, '
   'consectetur, adipisci velit. Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum '
   'quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit. Neque porro quisquam '
   'est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit.')

    btn2 = tk.Button(root, text="button 2")
    btn2.pack(padx=10, pady=5)
    button2_ttp = CreateToolTip(btn2, \
    "First thing's first, I'm the realest. Drop this and let the whole world "
    "feel it. And I'm still in the Murda Bizness. I could hold you down, like "
    "I'm givin' lessons in  physics. You should want a bad Vic like this.")
    root.mainloop()

Screenshot:

Example of hovertext


The Pmw.Balloon class from the Pmw toolkit for Tkinter will draw tool tips.

Also take a look at this blog post, which adapts some code from IDLE used for displaying tool tips with Tkinter.


First of all, I really like Alberto Vassena's tool tip and I tried to comment on his post with this bug correction, but as a new user I do not have enough points to make a comment, so I am making an answer. I hope this is acceptable.

There was a very small bug in Alberto Vassena's excellent answer and improved ToolTip.

Bug: For the actual label his code calls ttk.Label instead of tk.Label This resulted in the tooltip box being rendered but not the actual text until a further UI event such as another mouse move or a keyboard event.

Here is the corrected code for a full copy & paste:

import tkinter as tk
import tkinter.ttk as ttk


class Tooltip:
    '''
    It creates a tooltip for a given widget as the mouse goes on it.

    see:

    http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3221956/
           what-is-the-simplest-way-to-make-tooltips-
           in-tkinter/36221216#36221216

    http://www.daniweb.com/programming/software-development/
           code/484591/a-tooltip-class-for-tkinter

    - Originally written by vegaseat on 2014.09.09.

    - Modified to include a delay time by Victor Zaccardo on 2016.03.25.

    - Modified
        - to correct extreme right and extreme bottom behavior,
        - to stay inside the screen whenever the tooltip might go out on
          the top but still the screen is higher than the tooltip,
        - to use the more flexible mouse positioning,
        - to add customizable background color, padding, waittime and
          wraplength on creation
      by Alberto Vassena on 2016.11.05.

      Tested on Ubuntu 16.04/16.10, running Python 3.5.2

    TODO: themes styles support
    '''

    def __init__(self, widget,
                 *,
                 bg='#FFFFEA',
                 pad=(5, 3, 5, 3),
                 text='widget info',
                 waittime=400,
                 wraplength=250):

        self.waittime = waittime  # in miliseconds, originally 500
        self.wraplength = wraplength  # in pixels, originally 180
        self.widget = widget
        self.text = text
        self.widget.bind("<Enter>", self.onEnter)
        self.widget.bind("<Leave>", self.onLeave)
        self.widget.bind("<ButtonPress>", self.onLeave)
        self.bg = bg
        self.pad = pad
        self.id = None
        self.tw = None

    def onEnter(self, event=None):
        self.schedule()

    def onLeave(self, event=None):
        self.unschedule()
        self.hide()

    def schedule(self):
        self.unschedule()
        self.id = self.widget.after(self.waittime, self.show)

    def unschedule(self):
        id_ = self.id
        self.id = None
        if id_:
            self.widget.after_cancel(id_)

    def show(self):
        def tip_pos_calculator(widget, label,
                               *,
                               tip_delta=(10, 5), pad=(5, 3, 5, 3)):

            w = widget

            s_width, s_height = w.winfo_screenwidth(), w.winfo_screenheight()

            width, height = (pad[0] + label.winfo_reqwidth() + pad[2],
                             pad[1] + label.winfo_reqheight() + pad[3])

            mouse_x, mouse_y = w.winfo_pointerxy()

            x1, y1 = mouse_x + tip_delta[0], mouse_y + tip_delta[1]
            x2, y2 = x1 + width, y1 + height

            x_delta = x2 - s_width
            if x_delta < 0:
                x_delta = 0
            y_delta = y2 - s_height
            if y_delta < 0:
                y_delta = 0

            offscreen = (x_delta, y_delta) != (0, 0)

            if offscreen:

                if x_delta:
                    x1 = mouse_x - tip_delta[0] - width

                if y_delta:
                    y1 = mouse_y - tip_delta[1] - height

            offscreen_again = y1 < 0  # out on the top

            if offscreen_again:
                # No further checks will be done.

                # TIP:
                # A further mod might automagically augment the
                # wraplength when the tooltip is too high to be
                # kept inside the screen.
                y1 = 0

            return x1, y1

        bg = self.bg
        pad = self.pad
        widget = self.widget

        # creates a toplevel window
        self.tw = tk.Toplevel(widget)

        # Leaves only the label and removes the app window
        self.tw.wm_overrideredirect(True)

        win = tk.Frame(self.tw,
                       background=bg,
                       borderwidth=0)
        label = tk.Label(win,
                          text=self.text,
                          justify=tk.LEFT,
                          background=bg,
                          relief=tk.SOLID,
                          borderwidth=0,
                          wraplength=self.wraplength)

        label.grid(padx=(pad[0], pad[2]),
                   pady=(pad[1], pad[3]),
                   sticky=tk.NSEW)
        win.grid()

        x, y = tip_pos_calculator(widget, label)

        self.tw.wm_geometry("+%d+%d" % (x, y))

    def hide(self):
        tw = self.tw
        if tw:
            tw.destroy()
        self.tw = None


if __name__ == '__main__':

    import random

    def further_text():
        # texts generated at http://lorem-ipsum.perbang.dk/
        short_text = ('Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, mauris tellus, '
                     'porttitor torquent eu. Magna aliquet lorem, '
                     'cursus sit ac, in in. Dolor aliquet, cum integer. '
                     'Proin aliquet, porttitor pulvinar mauris. Tellus '
                     'lectus, amet cras, neque lacus quis. Malesuada '
                     'nibh. Eleifend nam, in eget a. Nec turpis, erat '
                     'wisi semper')
        medium_text = ('Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, suspendisse aenean '
                       'ipsum sollicitudin, pellentesque nunc ultrices ac '
                       'ut, arcu elit turpis senectus convallis. Ac orci '
                       'pretium sed gravida, tortor nulla felis '
                       'consectetuer, mauris egestas est erat. Ut enim '
                       'tellus at diam, ac sagittis vel proin. Massa '
                       'eleifend orci tortor sociis, scelerisque in pede '
                       'metus phasellus, est tempor gravida nam, ante '
                       'fusce sem tempor. Mi diam auctor vel pede, mus '
                       'non mi luctus luctus, lectus sit varius repellat '
                       'eu')
        long_text = ('Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, velit eu nam cursus '
                     'quisque gravida sollicitudin, felis arcu interdum '
                     'error quam quis massa, et velit libero ligula est '
                     'donec. Suspendisse fringilla urna ridiculus dui '
                     'volutpat justo, quisque nisl eget sed blandit '
                     'egestas, libero nullam magna sem dui nam, auctor '
                     'vehicula nunc arcu vel sed dictum, tincidunt vitae '
                     'id tristique aptent platea. Lacus eros nec proin '
                     'morbi sollicitudin integer, montes suspendisse '
                     'augue lorem iaculis sed, viverra sed interdum eget '
                     'ut at pulvinar, turpis vivamus ac pharetra nulla '
                     'maecenas ut. Consequat dui condimentum lectus nulla '
                     'vitae, nam consequat fusce ac facilisis eget orci, '
                     'cras enim donec aenean sed dolor aliquam, elit '
                     'lorem in a nec fringilla, malesuada curabitur diam '
                     'nonummy nisl nibh ipsum. In odio nunc nec porttitor '
                     'ipsum, nunc ridiculus platea wisi turpis praesent '
                     'vestibulum, suspendisse hendrerit amet quis vivamus '
                     'adipiscing elit, ut dolor nec nonummy mauris nec '
                     'libero, ad rutrum id tristique facilisis sed '
                     'ultrices. Convallis velit posuere mauris lectus sit '
                     'turpis, lobortis volutpat et placerat leo '
                     'malesuada, vulputate id maecenas at a volutpat '
                     'vulputate, est augue nec proin ipsum pellentesque '
                     'fringilla. Mattis feugiat metus ultricies repellat '
                     'dictum, suspendisse erat rhoncus ultricies in ipsum, '
                     'nulla ante pellentesque blandit ligula sagittis '
                     'ultricies, sed tortor sodales pede et duis platea')

        text = random.choice([short_text, medium_text, long_text, long_text])

        return '\nFurther info: ' + text

    def main_01(wraplength=200):

        # alias
        stuff = further_text

        root = tk.Tk()
        frame = ttk.Frame(root)

        btn_ne = ttk.Button(frame, text='North East')
        btn_se = ttk.Button(frame, text='South East')
        btn_sw = ttk.Button(frame, text='South West')
        btn_nw = ttk.Button(frame, text='North West')
        btn_center = ttk.Button(frame, text='Center')
        btn_n = ttk.Button(frame, text='North')
        btn_e = ttk.Button(frame, text='East')
        btn_s = ttk.Button(frame, text='South')
        btn_w = ttk.Button(frame, text='West')

        Tooltip(btn_nw, text='North West' + stuff(), wraplength=wraplength)
        Tooltip(btn_ne, text='North East' + stuff(), wraplength=wraplength)
        Tooltip(btn_se, text='South East' + stuff(), wraplength=wraplength)
        Tooltip(btn_sw, text='South West' + stuff(), wraplength=wraplength)
        Tooltip(btn_center, text='Center' + stuff(), wraplength=wraplength)
        Tooltip(btn_n, text='North' + stuff(), wraplength=wraplength)
        Tooltip(btn_e, text='East' + stuff(), wraplength=wraplength)
        Tooltip(btn_s, text='South' + stuff(), wraplength=wraplength)
        Tooltip(btn_w, text='West' + stuff(), wraplength=wraplength)

        r = 0
        c = 0
        pad = 10
        btn_nw.grid(row=r, column=c, padx=pad, pady=pad, sticky=tk.NW)
        btn_n.grid(row=r, column=c + 1, padx=pad, pady=pad, sticky=tk.N)
        btn_ne.grid(row=r, column=c + 2, padx=pad, pady=pad, sticky=tk.NE)

        r += 1
        btn_w.grid(row=r, column=c + 0, padx=pad, pady=pad, sticky=tk.W)
        btn_center.grid(row=r, column=c + 1, padx=pad, pady=pad,
                    sticky=tk.NSEW)
        btn_e.grid(row=r, column=c + 2, padx=pad, pady=pad, sticky=tk.E)

        r += 1
        btn_sw.grid(row=r, column=c, padx=pad, pady=pad, sticky=tk.SW)
        btn_s.grid(row=r, column=c + 1, padx=pad, pady=pad, sticky=tk.S)
        btn_se.grid(row=r, column=c + 2, padx=pad, pady=pad, sticky=tk.SE)

        frame.grid(sticky=tk.NSEW)
        for i in (0, 2):
            frame.rowconfigure(i, weight=1)
            frame.columnconfigure(i, weight=1)

        root.rowconfigure(0, weight=1)
        root.columnconfigure(0, weight=1)

        root.title('Tooltip wraplength = {}'.format(wraplength))
        root.mainloop()

    def main():
        print('Trying out three different wraplengths:')
        for i, wl in enumerate((200, 250, 400), 1):
            print(' ', i)
            main_01(wl)
        print('Done.')

    main()

I would not recommend to use Tix widgets, since Tix is basically not supported anymore and usually causes a lot of problems.

The following is an example of a tooltip directly taken from the Python's idlelib module:

# general purpose 'tooltip' routines - currently unused in idlefork
# (although the 'calltips' extension is partly based on this code)
# may be useful for some purposes in (or almost in ;) the current project scope
# Ideas gleaned from PySol

from tkinter import *


class ToolTipBase:

    def __init__(self, button):
        self.button = button
        self.tipwindow = None
        self.id = None
        self.x = self.y = 0
        self._id1 = self.button.bind("<Enter>", self.enter)
        self._id2 = self.button.bind("<Leave>", self.leave)
        self._id3 = self.button.bind("<ButtonPress>", self.leave)

    def enter(self, event=None):
        self.schedule()

    def leave(self, event=None):
        self.unschedule()
        self.hidetip()

    def schedule(self):
        self.unschedule()
        self.id = self.button.after(1500, self.showtip)

    def unschedule(self):
        id = self.id
        self.id = None
        if id:
            self.button.after_cancel(id)

    def showtip(self):
        if self.tipwindow:
            return
        # The tip window must be completely outside the button;
        # otherwise when the mouse enters the tip window we get
        # a leave event and it disappears, and then we get an enter
        # event and it reappears, and so on forever :-(
        x = self.button.winfo_rootx() + 20
        y = self.button.winfo_rooty() + self.button.winfo_height() + 1
        self.tipwindow = tw = Toplevel(self.button)
        tw.wm_overrideredirect(1)
        tw.wm_geometry("+%d+%d" % (x, y))
        self.showcontents()

    def showcontents(self, text="Your text here"):
        # Override this in derived class
        label = Label(self.tipwindow, text=text, justify=LEFT,
                      background="#ffffe0", relief=SOLID, borderwidth=1)
        label.pack()

    def hidetip(self):
        tw = self.tipwindow
        self.tipwindow = None
        if tw:
            tw.destroy()


class ToolTip(ToolTipBase):

    def __init__(self, button, text):
        ToolTipBase.__init__(self, button)
        self.text = text

    def showcontents(self):
        ToolTipBase.showcontents(self, self.text)


class ListboxToolTip(ToolTipBase):

    def __init__(self, button, items):
        ToolTipBase.__init__(self, button)
        self.items = items

    def showcontents(self):
        listbox = Listbox(self.tipwindow, background="#ffffe0")
        listbox.pack()
        for item in self.items:
            listbox.insert(END, item)

You could also import the module directly and use it:

from idlelib.ToolTip import *

def main():
    root = Tk()
    b = Button(root, text="Hello", command=root.destroy)
    b.pack()
    root.update()
    tip = ListboxToolTip(b, ["Hello", "world"])
    root.mainloop()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

I am using Python 3.4, and it is possible that other Python's distributions do not contain this ToolTip module.