Showing And Hiding Photoshop's Tool Tips (Photoshop CS2 and Earlier)

Turning Photoshop's Tool Tips On And Off In Photoshop CS2 And Earlier

Depending on your skill level, you may think of Photoshop's Tool Tips as a real lifesaver or you may find them rather annoying. The Tool Tips can be great for beginner Photoshop users since they pop up either the name or a brief description of different aspects of the interface when you hover your mouse over them, but they can also be annoying to anyone who no longer needs them. You can control whether the Tool Tips appear or not from within Photoshop's Preferences.

In Photoshop CS2 or earlier, go up to the Edit (Win) / Photoshop (Mac) menu at the top of the screen, choose Preferences, and then choose General. You'll see an option in the middle of the Preferences dialog box called Show Tool Tips. Click inside the checkbox to the left of the option's name to show or hide the Tool Tips. With the checkmark visible, the Tool Tips are enabled. When the checkmark is not visible, the Tool Tips are disabled:

If you're using Photoshop CS3, you'll find that Adobe has moved the Show Tool Tips option. You'll want to check out our Photoshop CS3 tip for the option's new location.