Why doesn't "don't show tooltips" work?

Question

I have a new laptop with W11 and the office applications. I've changed all of them to have "Don't Show Tooltips" set in File->Options->General->ScreenTip Style. They're still popping up annoying tips.

Is there another setting that also needs to be changed?

Since there's no a general option below, I picked Word since it's what I use the most; but I'm having the same problem in Outlook, Excel, and Powerpoint.

Answer 1

Hi David,

The three choices in the ScreenTip Style dropdown correspond to the possible values of the registry entry ScreenTipScheme in the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Toolbars. Those values are

0 = Show feature descriptions in ScreenTips

1 = Don't show feature descriptions in ScreenTips

2 = Don't show ScreenTips

Choosing one of these values in the dropdown is supposed to set the registry entry to the corresponding number, and that affects all of the Office programs.

Evidently your installation of Office isn't making the change in the registry, so the entry is set to 0 or 1 and isn't changing to 2. The first thing I would try is using the registry editor (regedit.exe) to change the value to 2 manually, to see whether that turns off screentips in all the programs. If it doesn't -- or if it does, but only temporarily -- try doing a quick repair of Office.

Please let us know what happens. Good luck!

Answer 2

Probably irrelevant, but there is another setting that references ScreenTips (File | Options | Advanced: Display:

In what situation are you seeing ScreenTips? It may be that the popups you are referring to are not ScreenTips but something else. For example, there is an option to show/not show AutoComplete suggestions for AutoText.

Answer 3

I suspect that Suzanne has pointed you to the correct option.

However, if you are referring to the "tips" about new features that tend to pop up in Office programs following an update, clicking "Got it" should prevent the pop-up from being shown again.

Answer 4

Hi David ,

I’m Jung one of the Independent Advisor and I’d be happy to help you out with your question.

For a short time following a WIndows update this was fixed on my laptop but after another day, and maybe another update, the problem returned, so I don't understand what the conditions are.

The script below checks for maximized windows and sets their size to a few pixels less than the screen size and this brings back tooltips.

I have found another way to fix the problem which might help some people. There are several programs I use regularly and the tooltips are important. On the programs I compile the tooltips help my users if they are not familiar with using the programs. If I set the maximum window size to be greater than the screen size ( @DesktopHeight/@Desktopwidth) then when maximized it still fits the screen ok but the tooltips still work. This can be done in AUtoIt with

GUIRegisterMsg($WM_GETMINMAXINFO, "MY_WM_GETMINMAXINFO")---- (search for examples)

In Delphi it can be done with Form.Constraints. I don't know about other languages.

For apps where the maximum size can't be controlled the script below could help someone; it helps me at least.

Const $SPI_SETWORKAREA = 47, $SPI_GETWORKAREA = 48, $SPIF_SENDCHANGE = 11

$StartRect = DllStructCreate("int[4]")
$PStartRect = DllStructGetPtr($StartRect)

$res = DllCall("user32.dll", "int", "SystemParametersInfo", "int", $SPI_GETWORKAREA, "int", 0, "ptr", $PStartRect, "int", 0)

$maxwid = DllStructGetData($StartRect, 1, 3) - DllStructGetData($StartRect, 1, 1)
$maxht = DllStructGetData($StartRect, 1, 4) - DllStructGetData($StartRect, 1, 2)

While 1
$aList = WinList()

$res = DllCall("user32.dll", "int", "SystemParametersInfo", "int", $SPI_GETWORKAREA, "int", 0, "ptr", $PStartRect, "int", 0)

$maxwid = DllStructGetData($StartRect, 1, 3) - DllStructGetData($StartRect, 1, 1)
$maxht = DllStructGetData($StartRect, 1, 4) - DllStructGetData($StartRect, 1, 2)

For $i = 1 To $aList[0][0]
If $aList[$i][0] <> 'Program Manager' Then
$ws = WinGetPos($aList[$i][1])

if isarray($ws) then;for some reason it isn't always
If $aList[$i][0] <> "" And $ws[2] > $maxwid And $ws[3] > $maxht Then
WinSetState($aList[$i][1], '', @SW_RESTORE);because changing the size leaves it as maximised as far as Windows is concerned!
WinMove($aList[$i][1], '', $ws[0],$ws[1], $maxwid, $maxht)

Endif
EndIf
EndIf
Next
Sleep(5000)
WEnd

You may check this thread below:

https://www.excelforum.com/excel-general/715988-missing-tooltip.html

https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/180132-fix-missing-tooltips-in-windows-10/

Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

I hope this information helps. If you have any questions, please let me know and I’ll be glad to assist you further.

Best regards,
Jung