Control Tip Text with Greg Regan
Why Built-in Access Tooltips Fall Short (and How to Fix Them) (an Access User Group talk with Greg Regan)

Ever wondered why the built-in tooltips in Access forms feel sluggish and often go unnoticed by users?
In this Access Express Australia user group presentation, Greg Regan demonstrates a practical solution for creating responsive, eye-catching tooltips that enhance the user interface of Access applications. His approach addresses the limitations of Access's native Control Tip Text feature by implementing a custom solution using standard Access controls, making it easy for developers to create more intuitive and professional-looking user interfaces.
Whether you're building icon-based interfaces or trying to make your Access applications look more modern, this presentation offers practical techniques for implementing tooltips that actually work the way users expect them to.
The Case for Better Tooltips
Why Custom Tooltips Matter
- Modern web applications have raised user expectations
- Standard Access tooltips are laggy and easy to miss
- Users often don't know tooltips exist without being told
- Professional-looking interfaces help solutions compete with web apps
Current Limitations
- Built-in Control Tip Text is slow to appear
- Users can easily miss native tooltips
- Standard tooltips lack visual appeal
- Poor discoverability for new users
Technical Implementation
Core Components
- Image control for the icon
- Command button for the tooltip display
- Rectangle control for the backdrop
- Tag property stores tooltip text
- Mouse move events handle display logic
Key Design Elements
- Command button provides clean, rounded corners
- Backdrop matches form background color
- Tooltip automatically sizes to text content
- Hidden backdrop enables smooth tooltip dismissal
- Positioning logic prevents tooltip from going off-screen
Implementation Details
Control Properties
- Image control: Contains tooltip text in Tag property
- Rectangle control: Default visibility set to No
- Command button: No tab stop, bring to front
- Backdrop: Center back arrangement
Event Handling
- MouseMove on icon displays tooltip
- MouseMove on backdrop hides tooltip
- MouseMove on tooltip itself ensures proper dismissal
- Single event handler manages visibility
Enhanced Features
Advanced Version
- Callout-style tooltips available
- Multiple component parts for sophisticated look
- Custom images for different pointing directions
- More complex but visually appealing
Accessibility Considerations
- Potential for keyboard navigation support
- Hybrid solutions using transparent command buttons
- Focus indicators for better usability
- Multiple ways to trigger tooltips
Conclusion
Greg's presentation demonstrates that with some creative thinking and basic Access controls, developers can create sophisticated tooltip solutions that rival modern web applications. While the basic implementation uses just a command button and rectangle control, the technique can be extended to create more elaborate tooltip designs, making Access applications both more professional and more user-friendly.
Recording
The full recording is available on YouTube:
Join Live!
Want to get even more out of these presentations? Join the live Access User Group events! The next upcoming events are listed on the AUG Event Calendar.
Attending live gives you the opportunity to:
- Interact directly with presenters during Q&A sessions
- Network with other Access developers
- Share your own experiences and challenges
- Get immediate answers to your specific questions
- Participate in group discussions
With multiple user groups across different time zones (and languages!), you're sure to find a meeting time that works for your schedule.
Acknowledgements
- Base cover image generated by FLUX-schnell
- Initial draft generated by Claude-3.5-Sonnet