Bad Tooltips Thread

[billrey]

Similar to the UI Paper Cuts thread, I would like to start a thread to collect lists of bad tooltips in Blender.

Unclear tooltips is very low hanging fruit but can be super helpful to users.

Tooltips are trivial to update and improve, but it takes a long time to look through them all. I would like to ask the community to contribute lists of bad tooltips, as well as suggestions on how to improve them.

I can then easily commit tooltip changes once they are reported in here.

What is a bad tooltip?
Go here to see the dos and don’ts:
https://developer.blender.org/T76261

I will make tooltip changes in batches, once there is a good list of suggestions

[billrey]

I’ll get the ball rolling:

This tooltip uses some complicated jargon. Both ‘data-blocks’ and ‘users’ are not necessary concepts here.

I would change it to “Save data even if it isn’t in use”

[billrey]

‘Button display’ doesn’t really make any semantic sense to end-users.
I would change it to: The unit system to use in the user interface

[xrg]

These are some incorrect/broken ones:

Object Mode Context Menu -> Rename Active Object : Call (draw) a predefined panel
Object -> Quick Effects : (undocumented operator)

In Edit Mode:
Vertex -> Bevel Vertices : Edge Bevel
Edge -> Subdivide Edge Ring : (undocumented operator)

[Znio.G]

i posted this in the UI paper cut but i guess i’ll put here too, the top 3 object types have construct in their tooltips while others have “add”, i think they should be changed to “create” for all of them in object mode because we are neither Adding or Constructing in a general sense but creating new objects each time…and in edit mode they should be “Add” instead of “construct” since you are adding to an existing mesh.

[Harleya]

Some of my favorite types:

When we get nerdy and too correct and technical. We use this “Browse {something} to be linked” in many places. Yes, you are “browsing” and it might get “linked” but that button is “Select a Light”. You click that button and very simply get a list of lights that you can select from.

Or when we concern ourselves more with the current setting of a thing versus what the thing actually is. Here I know damn-well that the current editor is Outliner. If I don’t, this is not the place to learn it. That button is “Select Editor Type” Its okay to say after, or under, what the current setting is, but the primary purpose of the tooltip should be to inform what the thing DOES.

[Alberto]

Could be great invert the order of this tooltips, first description, second the actual value.

Also change transformation orientation: Global by “value:Global” or other to not confuse with the name

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Open reference docs with Internet browser

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Redundant

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Could change the shorcut descriptition to Shift + E, in this an other shorcuts ?

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Description make reference to next tool

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“Create a bridge of faces between selected elements”

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Could have a different tooltip each seam call?

[billrey]

Could change the shorcut descriptition to Shift + E, in this an other shorcuts ?

Not sure what you mean. It’s Ctrl-E.

Could have a different tooltip each seam call?

Unfortunately not. It’s the same operator with different arguments.

[jendrzych]

“duplicate selected […]” or “make a copy of selected […]” instead of “add a new […]”.

Or maybe change those buttons into dropdown menu? One that works similar to this one: LINK

[Keavon]

This is good:

This is not:

The latter should be consistent and affirmative. It is currently inconsistent by using both “gizmos” and “outlines” whilst the preceeding box is for gizmos. It should also be worded consistently with the the gizmo toggle because they are related menus. It should also be affirmative language, not something nebulous with the usage of the word “like” whereby examples are given but no direct meaning is established.

[xrg]

Here’s one from Twitter.

Paweł Łyczkowski (PLyczkowski)

[billrey]

There are a bunch of tooltips like that in Blender

[nokipaike]

these gags make me die laughing

[Znio.G]

these seem to not have any descriptive tooltips…there might be other ones due to all the changes that are happening,…will keep looking for them.

[Alberto]

This tooltip could tell what do this control, because the info is redundant and we don’t know what do in reality.

[billrey]

That has been fixed, so the tooltip is correct again.

[billrey]

Do you have a suggestion for a better tooltip here?

[billrey]

Can you list the bad tooltip and a suggestion for a better one?

[irfan]

Apply Ambient Occlusion/Dirt/Self Shadowing maybe?

[xrg]

Not sure. Maybe something like “Limit affected vertices by distance.” Not sure that really explains it any clearer, though.