Flash cards
Review the key moves
What is the main idea behind CSS Tooltip Arrows?
Lesson checks
Practice each idea before moving on
Short Mimo-style checks built from this lesson's code, terms, and sequence.
Which statement best captures the main point of this lesson?
Complete the missing token from the example code.
.___::after {Put the learning moves in the order that makes the concept easiest to apply.
Tooltip Arrows
To create an arrow that should appear from a specific side of the tooltip, add "empty" content after tooltip, with the pseudo-element class ::after together with the content property. The arrow itself is created using borders. This will make the tooltip look like a speech bubble.
This example demonstrates how to add an arrow to the bottom of the tooltip:
Bottom Arrow
.tooltiptext::after {
content: " ";
position: absolute;
top: 100%;
/* At the bottom of the tooltip */
left: 50%;
margin-left: -5px;
border-width: 5px;
border-style: solid;
border-color: black transparent transparent transparent;
}Live preview
Expected output
Hover over me Tooltip text
Example Explained
Position the arrow inside the tooltip: top: 100% will place the arrow at the bottom of the tooltip. left: 50% will center the arrow.
Note
The border-width property specifies the size of the arrow. If you change this, also change the margin-left value to the same. This will keep the arrow centered.
The border-color is used to transform the content into an arrow. We set the top border to black, and the rest to transparent. If all sides were black, you would end up with a black square box.
This example demonstrates how to add an arrow to the top of the tooltip. Notice that we set the bottom border color this time:
Top Arrow
.tooltiptext::after {
content: " ";
position: absolute;
bottom: 100%; /* At the top of the tooltip */
left: 50%;
margin-left: -5px;
border-width: 5px;
border-style: solid;
border-color: transparent transparent black transparent;
}Live preview
Expected output
Hover over me Tooltip text
This example demonstrates how to add an arrow to the left of the tooltip:
Left Arrow
.tooltiptext::after {
content: " ";
position: absolute;
top: 50%;
right: 100%; /* To the left of the
tooltip */
margin-top: -5px;
border-width: 5px;
border-style: solid;
border-color: transparent black transparent transparent;
}Live preview
Expected output
Hover over me Tooltip text
This example demonstrates how to add an arrow to the right of the tooltip:
Right Arrow
.tooltiptext::after {
content: " ";
position: absolute;
top: 50%;
left: 100%; /* To the right of the
tooltip */
margin-top: -5px;
border-width: 5px;
border-style: solid;
border-color: transparent transparent transparent black;
}Live preview
Expected output
Hover over me Tooltip text