21 replies to this topic

[bwelford]

qwerty, I note in your reference it does say that this is also known as a ToolTip. Perhaps it's just that, i.e. something which comes up as a ToolTip when using any Microsoft software such as Word or Internet Explorer. It may be the MS use of the term Title is not directly tied in with the Title attribute or tag as defined in standard HTML.

Barry Welford

[qwerty]

I've done a little more checking since I wrote that post, Barry. As I indicated, I added a title attribute to a form's textbox, and I've now tested it in IE, NN, Opera, and Mozilla. It works the same way on all of them.

And according to the W3C, it is considered an attribute of the input object, listed under "Attributes Defined Elsewhere".

[amabaie]

Holy Hyperbole! Rob, that list is immense.

I suppose to do it all is just plain spammy, but to include a title in text links and in tables makes sense, as it explains the page to human viewers and robots at once.

I can see the value in adding it to a form. If you have space for just "email" and "name" on a web page, the "title" could explain more, such as "type your first name here, so we can personalize the newsletter for you".

Do any of the others make sense to use?

[mcanerin]

I'd like to see which uses of this title attribute would pass W3C HTML Strict, since some of us prefer / are forced to use it. I'll check it out and let people know - unless someone else already knows? I do know that it doesn't like half the things I used to put in as attributes.

Ian

[qwerty]

It does validate as html 4.01 transitional, FWIW

And David, if I'm correct in believing that title attributes aren't indexed, I don't think I would call them spammy. Overuse of them would inflate the size of the document, and as a user I wouldn't want a tooltip popping up everywhere I stuck my mouse, but apart from that I think it's fine. Besides, I didn't put any keywords into the title I created. It says, "Please enter a full, valid email address".

[compar]

... I wouldn't want a tooltip popping up everywhere I stuck my mouse,

Hmmmmm. Interesting phrase. Would you like to elaborate on some of the places you have stuck your mouse?

[qwerty]

Well, I live with two cats, so sometimes I need to put my mouse someplace they're not likely to look, just for its own safety