Toasts, tooltips and hover previews

Oda keeps its smallest messages short-lived. Toasts report or confirm something without taking over the screen, tooltips explain a control while you point at it, and hover previews open a card about a row. This page covers how each behaves; the surfaces that use them explain what they show.

Toasts: brief notices at the top

A toast slides in at the top centre of the window, holds for a moment, then fades on its own.

• A toast stays about three seconds. One that carries an action stays about five, so you have time to reach it. A notice whose text needs more reading, such as a failure that names what broke, can be set to stay longer.
• A toast never gets in the way: the notice itself lets clicks pass through to whatever is underneath. Only its action takes a click, and only while the notice is visible. Once it has faded, the action no longer responds.
• An action appears either as clickable words inside the notice's sentence, sometimes joined by a short word such as "or", or as a button after the text.
• Each time a notice is raised it gets its full time, so the same text shown again starts its wait over.
• A success notice carries its own status mark.

Tooltips: the label on a control

A tooltip is the small bubble that explains a control: what it does, why it is unavailable, or which keys run it.

• Point at a control and the bubble appears after a short wait. When the control has keyboard focus, it appears at once.
• Once one bubble has shown, moving to the next control near it shows that bubble without the wait, so a row of controls reads quickly.
• The bubble stays while you point at the control or it has focus, and hides when you have left it and it no longer has focus.
• Choosing the control dismisses its tooltip, and it stays away until the next time you hover or focus the control.
• Focus that arrives from something you just clicked, such as a menu returning focus to its button, leaves the bubble quiet on purpose; the tooltip appears the next time you work the control with the keyboard.
• The bubble names the control, and a control with a keyboard shortcut shows it after the label.
• Near the edge of the window the bubble slides back inside, keeping a small margin; it moves to the other side of the control only when there is room there.
• When controls sit inside one another, only the innermost bubble shows; a visible inner tooltip suppresses the outer one.

Hover previews: the card beside a row

A hover preview is a card that opens beside a row when you rest the pointer on it. The rows in the sidebar, such as chats and workspaces, are examples.

• Rest the pointer on the row for a short dwell, about half a second by default, and the card opens beside it.
• The card stays inside the window, so one near the bottom is nudged up to fit.
• Move the pointer into the card to read it: it stays open, and you can select text inside it.
• A card can carry a copy control that names what it will copy. It confirms with Copied for a second, and a repeat click while the confirmation shows changes nothing. If the copy does not go through, the card stays and nothing is confirmed.
• Leave the pointer and the card closes a moment later. Move back onto it quickly and it stays open.
• Where a preview is turned off for a row, resting on it opens nothing.
• The card keeps its place beside the row as you scroll or resize the window.

Questions, answered

How long does a toast stay on screen?

About three seconds, then it fades on its own. A toast that carries an action stays about five, so you have time to reach it, and a notice whose text needs more reading, such as a failure that names what broke, can be set to stay longer.

Can a toast block what I am doing underneath?

No. The notice itself lets clicks pass through, so you can keep working on whatever is under it. Only its action takes a click, and only while the notice is visible. After it fades, the action stops responding.

A toast had an action, but clicking in that spot does nothing now. Why?

The toast has already faded. Its action works only while the notice is on screen; once the notice has faded, the action takes no input. The action is offered again the next time that notice is raised.

The same message appeared again. Why does it start over?

Every time a notice is raised it gets its full time. Showing the same text a second time does not shorten its wait because you have seen it before.

When does a tooltip appear?

Point at a control and it appears after a short wait; move the keyboard's focus to the control and it appears at once. Once you have seen one tooltip, moving to a control beside it skips the wait, so you can read a row of them in one pass.

Why did the tooltip disappear when I clicked the control?

Choosing a control dismisses its tooltip, and it stays away until the next time you hover or focus the control. Focus that arrives as a result of a click, such as a menu returning focus to its button, also keeps the bubble quiet on purpose; it shows again when you next work the control with the keyboard.

Why does a tooltip sometimes show a key after the label?

That is the control's keyboard shortcut. When a control has one, the tooltip shows it after the label, so you can learn the key without leaving the screen.

Why did a tooltip move when it was near the edge of the window?

To stay readable, it slides back inside the window, keeping a small margin. It moves to the other side of the control only when there is room there; otherwise it keeps the placement it started with.

Why do I see only one tooltip on controls that sit inside each other?

Only the innermost bubble shows. A visible inner tooltip suppresses the outer one, so nested controls never show two bubbles at once.

How long do I have to hover for a preview card to open?

The card opens after a short dwell, about half a second by default. After that it stays beside the row while you read it.

Can I select text in a preview, and what does its copy control confirm?

Yes. Move the pointer into the card and select what you need; the card stays open while you do. Its copy control names the item it will copy and confirms with Copied for a second. If the copy does not go through, the card stays and nothing is confirmed.

Why did the preview close while I was moving towards it?

The card closes a moment after the pointer leaves the row. Reaching the card before that moment ends keeps it open; if it slipped away, rest on the row again.