How do I add tooltips to my Custom Excel Ribbon UI?

Question

This may be a duplicate, but I am having trouble getting this function to work. Using the XML found in that answer.

How do I add custom tooltips to an Excel ribbon? I am using Custom UI Editor for Microsoft Office, and my code is as follows:

<customUI xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2009/07/customui">
<ribbon>
    <tabs>
        <tab id="customTab" label="Quoting Utilities" insertBeforeMso="TabHome">

            <group id="CGImportingFiles" label="Importing Files">
                <button id="ImportOpenWorkbook" label="Import Open Workbook" size="large" imageMso="InfopathExportToExcel" onAction="CGCImportOpenWorkbook" screentip="Title" supertip="Imports the data from an open workbook" />
                <button id="ImportSavedWorkbook" label="Import Saved Workbook" size="large" imageMso="FormExportToExcel" onAction="CGCImportSavedWorkbook" supertip="Imports the data from a saved workbook" />
                <button id="ImportFromClipboard" label="Import From Clipboard" size="large" imageMso="PasteSingleCellTableAsTable" onAction="CGCImportFromClipboard" supertip="Pastes the clipboard contents" />
                <button id="ClearDataTable" label="Clear Data Table" size="large" imageMso="NewTableStyle2" onAction="CGCClearDataTable" supertip="Clears all data within the data table" />
            </group>
            <group id="CGCleaningData" label="Cleaning Data">
                <button id="UnmergeConsolidate" label="Unmerge Selection and Consolidate" size="large" imageMso="CatalogMergeCreateList" onAction="CGCUnmergeConsolidate" supertip="Unmerges all cells within the selection. If doing so would leave any empty rows or columns, delete them" />
                <button id="CropSelection" label="Crop Selection" size="large" imageMso="PageFitToDrawing" onAction="CGCCropSelection" supertip="Deletes all data in the sheet which is outside the current selection. Selection is moved to A1" />
                <button id="RemoveSpecialChars" label="Remove Special Characters" size="large" imageMso="WordCount" onAction="CGCRemoveSpecialChars" supertip="Removes all non-keyboard characters within selection (depends on header datatype)" />
                <button id="RangeAssign" label="Assign Value to Range" size="large" imageMso="EnableInlineEdit" onAction="CGCRangeAssign" supertip="Assign one value to each cell in a range of cells" />
            </group>
            <group id="CGDataCategories" label="Header Functions">
                <button id="ResetColumnHeaders" label="Reset Column Headers" size="large" imageMso="FieldChooser" onAction="CGCResetColumnHeaders" supertip="Clears all header selections" />
                <button id="ClearBlankHeaders" label="Clear Blank Headers" size="large" imageMso="CrossFunctionalFlowchartVerticalDirection" onAction="CGCClearBlankHeaders" supertip="Replaces all blank header selections with actual blanks (a hyphen -> a blank)" />
                <button id="ValidateColumnSelections" label="Validate Column Headers" size="large" imageMso="ReviewRevisionAccept" onAction="CGCValidateColumnSelections" supertip="Check that all required headers exist, that no header is duplicated, that every header has data, and that all data has a header" />
                <button id="SortIntoStandardFormat" label="Sort Columns by Std Order" size="large" imageMso="ArrangeTools" onAction="CGCSortIntoStandardFormat" supertip="Sort data into the standard format, based on headers" />
            </group>
            <group idMso="GroupEnterDataAlignment" />
            <group idMso="GroupEnterDataNumber" />
            <group idMso="GroupClipboard" />
            <group idMso="GroupAlignmentExcel" />
            <group idMso="GroupCells" />                                
            <group idMso="GroupEditingExcel" />
        </tab>
    </tabs>
</ribbon>

Notice that the first button (ImportOpenWorkbook) has both a screentip="Title" and supertip="Imports the data from an open workbook" tag. The rest of the buttons only have the supertip tag. I have also tried only including the screentip tag, with no success.

This feature is supposed to display a on-hover tooltip for the menu item, right? Why isn't that happening?

I am using Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013.

Screenshot below: The custom Ribbon tab in question. Though the cursor is not captured by my screenshot program, the first menu item is currently under the cursor. No such tooltip appears, even after waiting for 10 seconds. I have not yet been able to successfully make a tooltip appear.

Screenshot below: The options window, indicating that Show function ScreenTips is already enabled. Note: No other (built-in) functions are showing screentips either! Could someone show me what a ScreenTip should look like? If my client settings have them enabled, but none are appearing, what could be the cause of the issue?

For reference, the MSDN documentation for the Custom UI Editor button is found here.

both screentip & supertip work for me in the past. One thing to keep in mind when using Custom UI Editor (I think -- it's been a while and I'm going from memory) is that you need to completely close out of the file in PPT before you open it in Custom UI Editor, then you must save & close Custom UI before reopening it in PowerPoint. — David Zemens, Jul 31 '18 at 18:38
@DavidZemens Thanks, but I have been following this practice throughout development. I have also tried a full reboot to see if anything was affected. No such luck. (Slight correction, I'm using Excel) — , Jul 31 '18 at 18:57
ah ok. Yeah I had PPT on my mind because that's what I've developed in and was looking at some of my old XML. Same idea in Excel/Word/PPT though :) Here's a screenshot of Screentip + Supertip together, excuse the typo in "supertipe" https://imgur.com/a/HD2MSfR — David Zemens, Jul 31 '18 at 19:15

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 31 '18 at 19:23

I have found an answer to my own question! I will share it for posterity.

The Solution

The critical piece of information in the Question is:

No other (built-in) functions are showing screentips either!

I was able to find a second setting for ScreenTips (why there are two distinct settings meaning 'Show Screentips', I might never know). Screenshot below:

Previously, the ScreenTip style setting was "Don't show ScreenTips", but it should have been "Show feature descriptions in ScreenTips". Once again, this setting feels redundant to the setting described in the Question, but perhaps there is a difference between a 'feature' and a 'function' according to Microsoft...? If so, the terms are (evidently) easy to confuse.

Regardless, the ScreenTips (and SuperTips) are appearing correctly now! See screenshot below:

Rebuttal Question

Why does Microsoft have two settings which are titled so similarly?

If you know why these are two distinct settings, perhaps weighing in as a comment would help clear up this issue further, or at least help understand the implications of the terms 'feature' and 'function'.

How do I add tooltips to my Custom Excel Ribbon UI?

1 Answers1

The Solution

Rebuttal Question