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tooltips on tap

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From: Sonja Weckenmann
Date: Nov 6, 2021 9:54AM


Hi,

I'm a little confused about whether or not custom tooltips can work for
touch screen users (even knowing that tooltips are not recommended and
knowing there is no problem with "toggletips").

I've read different statements:

- They are inaccessible to touch devices when attached to buttons or
links. This is because hover is unavailable on a touch device, and it is
also impossible to focus a button or link without activating it.
- Tooltips in general are a bit quirky on touch devices, since there's
no "hovering".
- So far it simply doesn't work so well for touch screen users because
the focus and active states happen simultaneously. In practice, this
means you'll see the tooltip, but only as the button is being pressed.

I've seen examples from Scott O'Hara, displaying the tooltips on tap, so
it seems to me that it is possible
(http://scottaohara.github.io/a11y_tooltips/).

Could anyone explain this to me in a little more detail? Unfortunately I
am not so much a kind of a JavaScript expert.

Thanks a lot.
Sonja