tipandoverlay

Tipandoverlay is a term used in user interface design to describe an overlay component that delivers contextual tips and hints without navigating away from the current view. It typically anchors tip content to specific UI elements and can appear as small popovers, modal panels, or inline overlays.

Origin and usage: The name is a portmanteau of tip and overlay. It is not a formal standard but a descriptive label used in design discussions and documentation to categorize tip-first overlay mechanisms that accompany software interfaces, websites, or apps.

Functionality: Tipandoverlays are triggered by user actions or system states (for example, first use, feature discovery, or error conditions) and can be dismissed or set to reappear. They support placement options, theming, and localization, and are designed to be accessible via keyboard and screen readers. Content can include text, images, and links to deeper help or documentation.

Implementation considerations: Common implementations use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with ARIA attributes. Designers consider performance impact, click-through behavior, responsive placement, and persistence of tips across sessions via local storage or user preferences. Localization and consistency with the surrounding UI are also important.

Applications: They are used for onboarding, contextual help, feature discovery, and guided tours on dashboards, editors, and other complex applications. They help reduce user friction by providing just-in-time guidance without interrupting workflow.

Relation to other concepts: Tipandoverlay overlaps with tooltips, coach marks, guided tours, and product tours. It can be implemented as part of a UI framework or as a standalone component.

See also: Tooltip, Coach mark, Guided tour, Onboarding.