Angular Tooltip Directive Overview

The igxTooltip and the igxTooltipTarget directives provide us with the ability to create a fully customizable tooltip and attach it to any element on our page. While most tooltips have a limited number of available positions, with the igxTooltipTarget directive we can specify any position we want on the page while keeping it in relation to the target (anchor) and provide various other overlay settings like scroll strategies and custom animations!

Angular Tooltip Example

Getting Started with Ignite UI for Angular Tooltip

To get started with the Ignite UI for Angular Tooltip directive, first you need to install Ignite UI for Angular. In an existing Angular application, type the following command:

ng add igniteui-angular

For a complete introduction to the Ignite UI for Angular, read the getting started topic.

The next step is to import the IgxTooltipModule in your app.module.ts file.

// app.module.ts

...
import { IgxTooltipModule } from 'igniteui-angular';
// import { IgxTooltipModule } from '@infragistics/igniteui-angular'; for licensed package

@NgModule({
    ...
    imports: [IgxTooltipModule],
})
export class AppModule {}

Alternatively, as of 16.0.0 you can import the IgxTooltipDirective as a standalone dependency, or use the IGX_TOOLTIP_DIRECTIVES token to import the component and all of its supporting components and directives.

// home.component.ts

import { IGX_TOOLTIP_DIRECTIVES, IgxAvatarComponent } from 'igniteui-angular';
// import { IGX_TOOLTIP_DIRECTIVES, IgxAvatarComponent } from '@infragistics/igniteui-angular'; for licensed package

@Component({
  selector: 'app-home',
  template: `
    <igx-avatar
      class="avatar"
      #target="tooltipTarget"
      [igxTooltipTarget]="tooltipRef"
      src="assets/images/avatar/10.jpg"
      size="medium"
      shape="circle"
    >
    </igx-avatar>

    <div #tooltipRef="tooltip" igxTooltip>Her name is Madelyn James</div>
  `,
  styleUrls: ['home.component.scss'],
  standalone: true,
  imports: [IGX_TOOLTIP_DIRECTIVES, IgxAvatarComponent],
  /* or imports: [IgxTooltipDirective, IgxTooltipTargetDirective, IgxAvatarComponent] */
})
export class HomeComponent {}

Now that you have the Ignite UI for Angular Tooltip module or directives imported, you can start using the igxTooltip directive.

Using the Angular Tooltip

Let's say we want to create a simple text tooltip like the one above. In our case, we're using our awesome IgxAvatar as the element, so we start by importing the IgxAvatarModule first.

// app.module.ts

import { IgxTooltipModule, IgxAvatarModule } from 'igniteui-angular';
// import { IgxTooltipModule, IgxAvatarModule } from '@infragistics/igniteui-angular'; for licensed package

@NgModule({
    ...
    imports: [IgxTooltipModule, IgxAvatarModule],
})
export class AppModule {}

Tooltip target

The avatar will be our target and all we have to do is set the igxTooltipTarget directive on it, which basically marks our element as one that has a tooltip.

• The igxTooltipTarget directive extends the igxToggleAction directive.
• The igxTooltipTarget directive is exported with the name tooltipTarget.

<!--simpleTooltip.component.html-->

<igx-avatar
  class="avatar"
  #target="tooltipTarget"
  igxTooltipTarget
  src="assets/images/avatar/10.jpg"
  size="medium"
  shape="circle">
</igx-avatar>

Tooltip

Now let's create the tooltip element itself! Since we want a simple text tooltip, we will define an ordinary div element with text inside and set the igxTooltip directive on it, which marks it as a tooltip.

• The igxTooltip directive extends the igxToggle directive.
• The igxTooltip directive is exported with the name tooltip.

<!--simpleTooltip.component.html-->

<div #tooltipRef="tooltip" igxTooltip>Her name is Madelyn James</div>

Attach tooltip to target

Now that we have both our target and tooltip defined, all that's left for us to do is assign the tooltip's reference to the igxTooltipTarget selector of the target.

<!--simpleTooltip.component.html-->

<igx-avatar
  class="avatar"
  #target="tooltipTarget"
  [igxTooltipTarget]="tooltipRef"
  src="assets/images/avatar/10.jpg"
  size="medium"
  shape="circle">
</igx-avatar>

<div #tooltipRef="tooltip" igxTooltip>Her name is Madelyn James</div>

If everything went well, you should see the sample shown in the Tooltip Demo section.

Show/Hide delay settings

What if we want to control the amount of time that should pass before showing and hiding the tooltip? For this purpose we can use the showDelay and the hideDelay properties of the igxTooltipTarget directive. Both properties are of type number and take time in milliseconds.

Note

The built-in UI interaction behavior of the IgxTooltipTargetDirective works by taking showDelay and hideDelay property values into account. Showing and hiding the tooltip through the API or the API of the IgxTooltipDirective does NOT take the showDelay and hideDelay property values into account. If necessary, such logic would have to be implemented manually according to the application's specifics.

Overlay configuration

Both the igxTooltip and igxTooltipTarget directives use the IgxOverlayService to open and close the respective tooltip element.

The igxTooltipTarget directive exposes a positionSettings property, which can be used to customize the animations of our tooltip, its position in the UI and a lot more! If this property is not set, then default position settings will be used.

To further customize the tooltip, use the overlaySettings property (inherited from the igxToggleAction).

<igx-icon [igxTooltipTarget]="tooltipRef" [positionSettings]="positionSettings" [overlaySettings]="overlaySettings">
  info
</igx-icon>

<div #tooltipRef="tooltip" igxTooltip>Her name is Madelyn James</div>

public positionSettings: PositionSettings = {
  horizontalDirection: HorizontalAlignment.Left,
  horizontalStartPoint: HorizontalAlignment.Left,
  verticalDirection: VerticalAlignment.Top,
  verticalStartPoint: VerticalAlignment.Bottom,
  openAnimation: useAnimation(slideInTop, { params: { duration: '2000ms' } }),
  closeAnimation: useAnimation(slideOutBottom, { params: { duration: '2000ms'} }),
  offset: 10
}

public overlaySettings: OverlaySettings = {
  closeOnEscape: false,
};

Note

Any property that is set through the positionSettings or overlaySettings will override the same property from the default settings and will have a direct impact on the tooltip.

Additional Properties

Apart from the properties we've already covered, the igxTooltipTarget offers a variety of additional properties that allow you to further configure the tooltip's behavior and appearance.

You can make the tooltip "sticky" using the sticky property, which adds a close button and keeps the tooltip visible until the user closes it manually - either by clicking the close button or pressing the Esc key. This behavior overrides the default hover behavior, preventing the tooltip from disappearing when the user stops hovering over the target element.

<igx-icon [igxTooltipTarget]="tooltipRef" [sticky]="true">
  info
</igx-icon>

<div #tooltipRef="tooltip" igxTooltip>Her name is Madelyn James</div>

To customize the default close button, use the closeButtonTemplate property.

<igx-icon [igxTooltipTarget]="tooltipRef" [sticky]="true" [closeButtonTemplate]="customTemplate">
  info
</igx-icon>

<ng-template #customTemplate>
  <igx-icon>cancel</igx-icon>
</ng-template>

<div #tooltipRef="tooltip" igxTooltip>Her name is Madelyn James</div>

Note

Any custom content added via the closeButtonTemplate is rendered only when the tooltip is in sticky mode.

Additionally, you can add an arrow indicator to the tooltip by using the hasArrow property.

<igx-icon [igxTooltipTarget]="tooltipRef" [hasArrow]="true">
  info
</igx-icon>

<div #tooltipRef="tooltip" igxTooltip>Her name is Madelyn James</div>

The arrow element is positioned based on the provided position settings. If the directions and starting points do not correspond to any of the predefined position values, the arrow is positioned in the top middle side of the tooltip (default tooltip position bottom).

Predefined position values

Position	Horizontal Direction	Horizontal Start Point	Vertical Direction	Vertical Start Point
top	HorizontalAlignment.Center	HorizontalAlignment.Center	VerticalAlignment.Top	VerticalAlignment.Top
top-start	HorizontalAlignment.Right	HorizontalAlignment.Left	VerticalAlignment.Top	VerticalAlignment.Top
top-end	HorizontalAlignment.Left	HorizontalAlignment.Right	VerticalAlignment.Top	VerticalAlignment.Top
bottom	HorizontalAlignment.Center	HorizontalAlignment.Center	VerticalAlignment.Bottom	VerticalAlignment.Bottom
bottom-start	HorizontalAlignment.Right	HorizontalAlignment.Left	VerticalAlignment.Bottom	VerticalAlignment.Bottom
bottom-end	HorizontalAlignment.Left	HorizontalAlignment.Right	VerticalAlignment.Bottom	VerticalAlignment.Bottom
right	HorizontalAlignment.Right	HorizontalAlignment.Right	VerticalAlignment.Middle	VerticalAlignment.Middle
right-start	HorizontalAlignment.Right	HorizontalAlignment.Right	VerticalAlignment.Bottom	VerticalAlignment.Top
right-end	HorizontalAlignment.Right	HorizontalAlignment.Right	VerticalAlignment.Top	VerticalAlignment.Bottom
left	HorizontalAlignment.Left	HorizontalAlignment.Left	VerticalAlignment.Middle	VerticalAlignment.Middle
left-start	HorizontalAlignment.Left	HorizontalAlignment.Left	VerticalAlignment.Bottom	VerticalAlignment.Top
left-end	HorizontalAlignment.Left	HorizontalAlignment.Left	VerticalAlignment.Top	VerticalAlignment.Bottom

Customizing the arrow's position

To customize the arrow's position, you can override the positionArrow(arrow: HTMLElement, arrowFit: ArrowFit) method.

For example:

export class CustomStrategy extends TooltipPositioningStrategy {
  constructor(settings?: PositionSettings) {
    super(settings);
  }

  public override positionArrow(arrow: HTMLElement, arrowFit: ArrowFit): void {
    Object.assign(arrow.style, {
      left: '-0.25rem',
      transform: 'rotate(-45deg)',
      [arrowFit.direction]: '-0.25rem',
    });
  }
}

public overlaySettings: OverlaySettings = {
  positionStrategy: new CustomStrategy({
    horizontalDirection: HorizontalAlignment.Right,
    horizontalStartPoint: HorizontalAlignment.Right,
    verticalDirection: VerticalAlignment.Bottom,
    verticalStartPoint: VerticalAlignment.Bottom,
  })
};

<igx-icon [igxTooltipTarget]="tooltipRef" [hasArrow]="true" [overlaySettings]="overlaySettings">
  info
</igx-icon>

<div #tooltipRef="tooltip" igxTooltip>Her name is Madelyn James</div>

Rich tooltip

Customizing and styling the content of our tooltip has never been easier with the igxTooltip directive! Since the tooltip itself is an ordinary element in our markup, we can basically improve its content by adding any elements we need and have the ability to style them accordingly!

Let's expand on the use of the igxTooltip and use it to provide more details for a specific location on a map! We'll use a simple div to represent our map, the IgxAvatar for a logo in our tooltip and the IgxIcon for the location icon on our map. For this purpose, we will get their respective modules.

// app.module.ts

import { IgxTooltipModule, IgxAvatarModule, IgxIconModule } from 'igniteui-angular';
// import { IgxTooltipModule, IgxAvatarModule, IgxIconModule } from '@infragistics/igniteui-angular'; for licensed package

@NgModule({
    ...
    imports: [IgxTooltipModule, IgxAvatarModule, IgxIconModule],
})
export class AppModule {}

We will also use the following styles for our application:

/* richTooltip.component.css */

.location:hover {
  cursor: pointer;
}

.map {
  overflow: hidden;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  width: 200px;
  height: 252px;
  background-image: url(assets/images/card/media/infragisticsMap.png);
  border: 1px solid #d4d4d4;
}

.locationTooltip {
  width: 310px;
  background-color: var(--igx-grays-700);
  padding: 3px;
  font-size: 13px;
}

.locationTooltipContent {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
}

.logo {
  margin-right: 10px;
  min-width: 25px;
  width: 45px;
  height: 45px;
}

Let's start by creating our map. We need a simple div that has for a background an image with a map. Also, we will add an icon that will indicate the position of our location! Since we want to provide more details for this location, our icon will obviously be the tooltip target.

<!--richTooltip.component.html-->

<div class="map">
  <igx-icon
    class="location"
    [style.color]="'blue'"
    fontSet="material"
    [igxTooltipTarget]="locationTooltip"
    >location_on</igx-icon>
  ...
</div>

Now for the tooltip! For its content, we will create a container that will be populated with some text information elements and an avatar. Then we will simply attach the tooltip to the target and include some nice CSS styling!

<!--richTooltip.component.html-->

<div class="wrapper">
  <div class="map">
    <igx-icon
      class="location"
      [style.color]="'blue'"
      fontSet="material"
      [igxTooltipTarget]="locationTooltip"
      >location_on</igx-icon>

    <div class="locationTooltip" #locationTooltip="tooltip" igxTooltip>
      <div class="locationTooltipContent">
        <igx-avatar
          class="logo"
          src="assets/images/card/avatars/igLogo.png"
          size="medium"
          shape="square">
        </igx-avatar>
        <div>
          <div>Infragistics Inc. HQ</div>
          <div>2 Commerce Dr, Cranbury, NJ 08512, USA</div>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

If all went well, this is how our location and tooltip should look like:

Styling

To get started with styling the tooltip, we need to import the index file, where all the theme functions and component mixins live:

@use "igniteui-angular/theming" as *;

// IMPORTANT: Prior to Ignite UI for Angular version 13 use:
// @import '~igniteui-angular/lib/core/styles/themes/index';

Following the simplest approach, we create a new theme that extends the tooltip-theme and provide the $text-color, $background and the $border-radius parameters.

$dark-tooltip: tooltip-theme(
  $text-color: #ecaa53,
  $background: #011627,
  $border-radius: 6px,
);

Note

In order to style any additional components that are used as part of the tooltip's content (such as IgxButton, IgxSwitch, etc.), an additional theme should be created that is specific to the respective component and placed under the tooltip's scope only (so it does not affect the rest of the application).

Since the tooltip uses the IgxOverlayService, in order for our custom theme to reach down the tooltip that we want to style, we will provide a specific outlet where the tooltip will be placed in the DOM when it is visible.

<igx-avatar
  #target="tooltipTarget"
  [igxTooltipTarget]="tooltipRef"
  [igxToggleOutlet]="outlet"
>
</igx-avatar>

<div #outlet="overlay-outlet" igxOverlayOutlet>
  <div #tooltipRef="tooltip" igxTooltip>Her name is Madelyn James</div>
</div>

The last step is to include the component theme in our application.

@include css-vars($dark-tooltip);

So now our styled tooltip should look like this:

Demo

Accessibility

The igxTooltip is built with accessibility in mind and includes the following properties and ARIA attributes:

• id property - autogenerated if not set by the developer.
• role - When the tooltip is in its default behavior, role="tooltip" is applied. If the sticky property is enabled, the role changes to status.
• aria-hidden - automatically updated depending on whether the tooltip is visible or not.

By setting the aria-describedby attribute of the target to its respective tooltip's id, a reference will be provided to the tooltip element. This provides screen readers the information needed to read out the tooltip's contents when the end-user triggers the tooltip.

Extra care should be taken in the following scenarios:

• The tooltip's content is too complex to be automatically interpreted.
• The tooltip is used with a manually implemented behavior (e.g. manually show/hide) instead of the built-in one.
• The target element is unfocusable.

Notes and Limitations

Limitation	Description
Custom position strategy with arrow	The igxTooltipTarget directive uses the TooltipPositionStrategy to position the tooltip and arrow element. If a custom positionStrategy is used and hasArrow is set to true, the custom strategy should extend the TooltipPositionStrategy. Otherwise, the arrow will not be displayed.

API References

In this article we learned how to create, configure and style awesome tooltips for the elements on our page! We also used some additional Ignite UI for Angular components like icons and avatars to improve on the design of our application! The respective APIs are listed below:

• IgxTooltipDirective
• IgxTooltipTargetDirective

Additional components and/or directives that were used:

• IgxAvatarComponent
• IgxIconComponent
• IgxToggleDirective
• IgxToggleActionDirective

Styles:

• IgxTooltipDirective Styles
• IgxAvatarComponent Styles
• IgxIconComponent Styles

Additional Resources

Our community is active and always welcoming to new ideas.

• Ignite UI for Angular Forums
• Ignite UI for Angular GitHub