Chrome 139 is experimenting with Open UI’s proposed Interest Invoker API, which would be used to create tooltips, hover menus, hover cards, quick actions, and other types of UIs for showing more information with hover interactions.
The HTML popover attribute transforms elements into top-layer elements that can be opened and closed with a button or JavaScript. Popovers can be dismissed a number of ways, but there is no option to auto-close them. Preethi has a technique you can use.
I know, super niche, but it could be any loop, really. The challenge is having multiple tooltips on the same page that make use of the Popover API for toggling goodness and CSS Anchor Positioning for attaching a tooltip to its respective anchor element.
Web browsers are experimenting with two HTML attributes — technically, they’re called “invoker commands” — that are designed to invoke popovers, dialogs, and further down the line, all kinds of actions without writing JavaScript. Although, if you do reach for JavaScript, the new attributes come with some new events that we can listen for.
Let’s spend some time looking at disclosures, the Dialog API, the Popover API, and more. We’ll look at the right time to use each one depending on your needs. Modal or non-modal? JavaScript or pure HTML/CSS? Not sure? Don’t worry, we’ll go into all that.
What are tooltips, exactly? There's two kinds and the one you use has implications on the user experience, as Zell illustrates in this explainer on best practices.
Pop quiz! What's the difference between a Popover element and a Dialog element? The answer is not all that clear and is widely misunderstood, but Zell has a clear way to explain it so that you know which element to reach for in your work.
