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Tooltips

Documentation and examples for adding custom Boosted tooltips with CSS and JavaScript using CSS3 for animations and data-bs-attributes for local title storage.

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Overview

Things to know when using the tooltip plugin:

  • Tooltips rely on the third party library Popper for positioning. You must include popper.min.js before boosted.js, or use one boosted.bundle.min.js which contains Popper.
  • Tooltips are opt-in for performance reasons, so you must initialize them yourself.
  • Tooltips with zero-length titles are never displayed.
  • Specify container: 'body' to avoid rendering problems in more complex components (like our input groups, button groups, etc).
  • Triggering tooltips on hidden elements will not work.
  • Tooltips for .disabled or disabled elements must be triggered on a wrapper element.
  • When triggered from hyperlinks that span multiple lines, tooltips will be centered. Use white-space: nowrap; on your <a>s to avoid this behavior.
  • Tooltips must be hidden before their corresponding elements have been removed from the DOM.
  • Tooltips can be triggered thanks to an element inside a shadow DOM.

Got all that? Great, let’s see how they work with some examples.

By default, this component uses the built-in content sanitizer, which strips out any HTML elements that are not explicitly allowed. See the sanitizer section in our JavaScript documentation for more details.
The animation effect of this component is dependent on the prefers-reduced-motion media query. See the reduced motion section of our accessibility documentation.

Examples

Enable tooltips

As mentioned above, you must initialize tooltips before they can be used. One way to initialize all tooltips on a page would be to select them by their data-bs-toggle attribute, like so:

const tooltipTriggerList = document.querySelectorAll('[data-bs-toggle="tooltip"]')
const tooltipList = [...tooltipTriggerList].map(tooltipTriggerEl => new boosted.Tooltip(tooltipTriggerEl))

Hover over the links below to see tooltips:

Placeholder text to demonstrate some inline links with tooltips. This is now just filler, no killer. Content placed here just to mimic the presence of real text. And all that just to give you an idea of how tooltips would look when used in real-world situations. So hopefully you've now seen how these tooltips on links can work in practice, once you use them on your own site or project.

html 
<p class="muted">Placeholder text to demonstrate some <a href="#" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-title="Default tooltip">inline links</a> with tooltips. This is now just filler, no killer. Content placed here just to mimic the presence of <a href="#" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-title="Another tooltip">real text</a>. And all that just to give you an idea of how tooltips would look when used in real-world situations. So hopefully you've now seen how <a href="#" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-title="Another one here too">these tooltips on links</a> can work in practice, once you use them on <a href="#" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-title="The last tip!">your own</a> site or project.
</p>
Feel free to use either title or data-bs-title in your HTML. When title is used, Popper will replace it automatically with data-bs-title when the element is rendered.

Custom tooltips

Added in v5.2.0

You can customize the appearance of tooltips using CSS variables. We set a custom class with data-bs-custom-class="custom-tooltip" to scope our custom appearance and use it to override a local CSS variable.

.custom-tooltip {
  --bs-tooltip-bg: var(--bs-primary);
}
html 
<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary"
        data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-placement="top"
        data-bs-custom-class="custom-tooltip"
        data-bs-title="This top tooltip is themed via CSS variables.">
  Custom tooltip
</button>

Directions

Hover over the buttons below to see the four tooltips directions: top, right, bottom, and left. Directions are mirrored when using Boosted in RTL.

<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-placement="top" data-bs-title="Tooltip on top">
  Tooltip on top
</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-placement="right" data-bs-title="Tooltip on right">
  Tooltip on right
</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-placement="bottom" data-bs-title="Tooltip on bottom">
  Tooltip on bottom
</button>
<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-placement="left" data-bs-title="Tooltip on left">
  Tooltip on left
</button>

And with custom HTML added:

<button type="button" class="btn btn-secondary" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-html="true" data-bs-title="<em>Tooltip</em> <u>with</u> <b>HTML</b>">
  Tooltip with HTML
</button>

With an SVG:

<a href="#" class="d-inline-block" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-title="Default tooltip" aria-label="Default tooltip">
  <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="50" height="50" viewBox="0 0 100 100" focusable="false" aria-hidden="true">
    <rect width="100%" height="100%" fill="#563d7c"/>
    <circle cx="50" cy="50" r="30" fill="#007bff"/>
  </svg>
</a>

<button type="button" class="btn btn-link p-0 me-3" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-placement="top" data-bs-title="Tooltip on top">
  <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1.25rem" height="1.25rem" focusable="false" aria-hidden="true">
    <use xlink:href="/docs/5.2/assets/img/boosted-sprite.svg#tooltip"></use>
  </svg>
  <span class="visually-hidden">Helper</span>
</button>

CSS

Variables

Added in v5.2.0

As part of Boosted’s evolving CSS variables approach, tooltips now use local CSS variables on .tooltip for enhanced real-time customization. Values for the CSS variables are set via Sass, so Sass customization is still supported, too.

  --#{$prefix}tooltip-zindex: #{$zindex-tooltip};
  --#{$prefix}tooltip-max-width: #{$tooltip-max-width};
  --#{$prefix}tooltip-padding-x: #{$tooltip-padding-x};
  --#{$prefix}tooltip-padding-y: #{$tooltip-padding-y};
  --#{$prefix}tooltip-margin: #{$tooltip-margin};
  @include rfs($tooltip-font-size, --#{$prefix}tooltip-font-size);
  --#{$prefix}tooltip-font-weight: #{$tooltip-font-weight}; // Boosted mod: extra CSS variable
  --#{$prefix}tooltip-color: #{$tooltip-color};
  --#{$prefix}tooltip-bg: #{$tooltip-bg};
  --#{$prefix}tooltip-border-radius: #{$tooltip-border-radius};
  --#{$prefix}tooltip-opacity: #{$tooltip-opacity};
  --#{$prefix}tooltip-arrow-width: #{$tooltip-arrow-width};
  --#{$prefix}tooltip-arrow-height: #{$tooltip-arrow-height};

Sass variables 

$tooltip-font-size:                 $font-size-sm;
$tooltip-font-weight:               $font-weight-bold; // Boosted mod
$tooltip-max-width:                 $spacer * 10;
$tooltip-color:                     $black;
$tooltip-bg:                        $gray-400;
$tooltip-border-radius:             $border-radius;
$tooltip-opacity:                   1;
$tooltip-padding-y:                 $spacer * .5;
$tooltip-padding-x:                 $spacer * .5;
$tooltip-margin:                    null; // TODO: remove this in v6

$tooltip-arrow-width:               $spacer * .5;
$tooltip-arrow-height:              $tooltip-arrow-width * .5;
// fusv-disable
$tooltip-arrow-color:               null; // Deprecated in Boosted 5.2.0 for CSS variables
// fusv-enable

Usage

The tooltip plugin generates content and markup on demand, and by default places tooltips after their trigger element.

Trigger the tooltip via JavaScript:

const exampleEl = document.getElementById('example')
const tooltip = new boosted.Tooltip(exampleEl, options)
Overflow auto and scroll

Tooltip position attempts to automatically change when a parent container has overflow: auto or overflow: scroll like our .table-responsive, but still keeps the original placement’s positioning. To resolve this, set the boundary option (for the flip modifier using the popperConfig option) to any HTMLElement to override the default value, 'clippingParents', such as document.body:

const tooltip = new boosted.Tooltip('#example', {
  boundary: document.body // or document.querySelector('#boundary')
})

Markup

The required markup for a tooltip is only a data attribute and title on the HTML element you wish to have a tooltip. The generated markup of a tooltip is rather simple, though it does require a position (by default, set to top by the plugin).

Making tooltips work for keyboard and assistive technology users

You should only add tooltips to HTML elements that are traditionally keyboard-focusable and interactive (such as links or form controls). Although arbitrary HTML elements (such as <span>s) can be made focusable by adding the tabindex="0" attribute, this will add potentially annoying and confusing tab stops on non-interactive elements for keyboard users, and most assistive technologies currently do not announce the tooltip in this situation. Additionally, do not rely solely on hover as the trigger for your tooltip, as this will make your tooltips impossible to trigger for keyboard users. 

<!-- HTML to write -->
<a href="#" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-title="Some tooltip text!">Hover over me</a>

<!-- Generated markup by the plugin -->
<div class="tooltip bs-tooltip-top" role="tooltip">
  <div class="tooltip-arrow"></div>
  <div class="tooltip-inner">
    Some tooltip text!
  </div>
</div>

Disabled elements

Elements with the disabled attribute aren’t interactive, meaning users cannot focus, hover, or click them to trigger a tooltip (or popover). As a workaround, you’ll want to trigger the tooltip from a wrapper <div> or <span>, ideally made keyboard-focusable using tabindex="0".

html 
<span class="d-inline-block" tabindex="0" data-bs-toggle="tooltip" data-bs-title="Disabled tooltip">
  <button class="btn btn-primary" type="button" disabled>Disabled button</button>
</span>

Options

As options can be passed via data attributes or JavaScript, you can append an option name to data-bs-, as in data-bs-animation="{value}". Make sure to change the case type of the option name from “camelCase” to “kebab-case” when passing the options via data attributes. For example, use data-bs-custom-class="beautifier" instead of data-bs-customClass="beautifier".

As of Boosted 5.2.0, all components support an experimental reserved data attribute data-bs-config that can house simple component configuration as a JSON string. When an element has data-bs-config='{"delay":0, "title":123}' and data-bs-title="456" attributes, the final title value will be 456 and the separate data attributes will override values given on data-bs-config. In addition, existing data attributes are able to house JSON values like data-bs-delay='{"show":0,"hide":150}'.

Note that for security reasons the sanitize, sanitizeFn, and allowList options cannot be supplied using data attributes.
Name Type Default Description
allowList object Default value Object which contains allowed attributes and tags.
animation boolean true Apply a CSS fade transition to the tooltip.
boundary string, element 'clippingParents' Overflow constraint boundary of the tooltip (applies only to Popper’s preventOverflow modifier). By default, it’s 'clippingParents' and can accept an HTMLElement reference (via JavaScript only). For more information refer to Popper’s detectOverflow docs.
container string, element, false false Appends the tooltip to a specific element. Example: container: 'body'. This option is particularly useful in that it allows you to position the tooltip in the flow of the document near the triggering element - which will prevent the tooltip from floating away from the triggering element during a window resize.
customClass string, function '' Add classes to the tooltip when it is shown. Note that these classes will be added in addition to any classes specified in the template. To add multiple classes, separate them with spaces: 'class-1 class-2'. You can also pass a function that should return a single string containing additional class names.
delay number, object 0 Delay showing and hiding the tooltip (ms)—doesn’t apply to manual trigger type. If a number is supplied, delay is applied to both hide/show. Object structure is: delay: { "show": 500, "hide": 100 }.
fallbackPlacements array ['top', 'right', 'bottom', 'left'] Define fallback placements by providing a list of placements in array (in order of preference). For more information refer to Popper’s behavior docs.
html boolean false Allow HTML in the tooltip. If true, HTML tags in the tooltip’s title will be rendered in the tooltip. If false, innerText property will be used to insert content into the DOM. Use text if you’re worried about XSS attacks.
offset array, string, function [0, 0] Offset of the tooltip relative to its target. You can pass a string in data attributes with comma separated values like: data-bs-offset="10,20". When a function is used to determine the offset, it is called with an object containing the popper placement, the reference, and popper rects as its first argument. The triggering element DOM node is passed as the second argument. The function must return an array with two numbers: skidding, distance. For more information refer to Popper’s offset docs.
placement string, function 'top' How to position the tooltip: auto, top, bottom, left, right. When auto is specified, it will dynamically reorient the tooltip. When a function is used to determine the placement, it is called with the tooltip DOM node as its first argument and the triggering element DOM node as its second. The this context is set to the tooltip instance.
popperConfig null, object, function null To change Boosted’s default Popper config, see Popper’s configuration. When a function is used to create the Popper configuration, it’s called with an object that contains the Boosted’s default Popper configuration. It helps you use and merge the default with your own configuration. The function must return a configuration object for Popper.
sanitize boolean true Enable or disable the sanitization. If activated 'template', 'content' and 'title' options will be sanitized.
sanitizeFn null, function null Here you can supply your own sanitize function. This can be useful if you prefer to use a dedicated library to perform sanitization.
selector string, false false If a selector is provided, tooltip objects will be delegated to the specified targets. In practice, this is used to also apply tooltips to dynamically added DOM elements (jQuery.on support). See this issue and an informative example. Note: title attribute must not be used as a selector.
template string '<div class="tooltip" role="tooltip"><div class="tooltip-arrow"></div><div class="tooltip-inner"></div></div>' Base HTML to use when creating the tooltip. The tooltip’s title will be injected into the .tooltip-inner. .tooltip-arrow will become the tooltip’s arrow. The outermost wrapper element should have the .tooltip class and role="tooltip".
title string, element, function '' Default title value if title attribute isn’t present. If a function is given, it will be called with its this reference set to the element that the popover is attached to.
trigger string 'hover focus' How tooltip is triggered: click, hover, focus, manual. You may pass multiple triggers; separate them with a space. 'manual' indicates that the tooltip will be triggered programmatically via the .tooltip('show'), .tooltip('hide') and .tooltip('toggle') methods; this value cannot be combined with any other trigger. 'hover' on its own will result in tooltips that cannot be triggered via the keyboard, and should only be used if alternative methods for conveying the same information for keyboard users is present.

Data attributes for individual tooltips

Options for individual tooltips can alternatively be specified through the use of data attributes, as explained above.

Using function with popperConfig 

const tooltip = new boosted.Tooltip(element, {
  popperConfig(defaultBsPopperConfig) {
    // const newPopperConfig = {...}
    // use defaultBsPopperConfig if needed...
    // return newPopperConfig
  }
})

Methods

Asynchronous methods and transitions

All API methods are asynchronous and start a transition. They return to the caller as soon as the transition is started but before it ends. In addition, a method call on a transitioning component will be ignored.

See our JavaScript documentation for more information.

Method Description
disable Removes the ability for an element’s tooltip to be shown. The tooltip will only be able to be shown if it is re-enabled.
dispose Hides and destroys an element’s tooltip (Removes stored data on the DOM element). Tooltips that use delegation (which are created using the selector option) cannot be individually destroyed on descendant trigger elements.
enable Gives an element’s tooltip the ability to be shown. Tooltips are enabled by default.
getInstance Static method which allows you to get the tooltip instance associated with a DOM element, or create a new one in case it wasn’t initialized.
getOrCreateInstance Static method which allows you to get the tooltip instance associated with a DOM element, or create a new one in case it wasn’t initialized.
hide Hides an element’s tooltip. Returns to the caller before the tooltip has actually been hidden (i.e. before the hidden.bs.tooltip event occurs). This is considered a “manual” triggering of the tooltip.
setContent Gives a way to change the tooltip’s content after its initialization.
show Reveals an element’s tooltip. Returns to the caller before the tooltip has actually been shown (i.e. before the shown.bs.tooltip event occurs). This is considered a “manual” triggering of the tooltip. Tooltips with zero-length titles are never displayed.
toggle Toggles an element’s tooltip. Returns to the caller before the tooltip has actually been shown or hidden (i.e. before the shown.bs.tooltip or hidden.bs.tooltip event occurs). This is considered a “manual” triggering of the tooltip.
toggleEnabled Toggles the ability for an element’s tooltip to be shown or hidden.
update Updates the position of an element’s tooltip. 
const tooltip = boosted.Tooltip.getInstance('#example') // Returns a Boosted tooltip instance

// setContent example
tooltip.setContent({ '.tooltip-inner': 'another title' })
The setContent method accepts an object argument, where each property-key is a valid string selector within the popover template, and each related property-value can be string | element | function | null

Events

Event Description
hidden.bs.tooltip This event is fired when the popover has finished being hidden from the user (will wait for CSS transitions to complete).
hide.bs.tooltip This event is fired immediately when the hide instance method has been called.
inserted.bs.tooltip This event is fired after the show.bs.tooltip event when the tooltip template has been added to the DOM.
show.bs.tooltip This event fires immediately when the show instance method is called.
shown.bs.tooltip This event is fired when the popover has been made visible to the user (will wait for CSS transitions to complete). 
const myTooltipEl = document.getElementById('myTooltip')
const tooltip = boosted.Tooltip.getOrCreateInstance(myTooltipEl)

myTooltipEl.addEventListener('hidden.bs.tooltip', () => {
  // do something...
})

tooltip.hide()