AutoCAD 2009 and up provide you with new controls to customize the display of the tooltips in the Xref palette and the Sheet Set Manager. These tooltips let you preview the drawing geometry and details simply by hovering your cursor over an item in the palettes.

To access these controls, right-click in the border of the palette you wish to customize. Select Tooltip Style from the shortcut menu that appears. A submenu menu appears with options to display the name only, a preview, details, or both preview and details. Note that both the Preview and Preview/Details options allow you to select a small (64 pixel), medium (128 pixel), or large (256 pixel) preview image.

Caption: Set the level of information you want to appear in your Xref and Sheet Style Manager tooltips.

Another use for rollover tooltips in AutoCAD 2009 and up is to display the current values of certain  properties when you hover your cursor over an object you’ve selected. You can set the properties and values that display for different object types. You can either display properties common to all object types or properties specific to an object type.
Set the properties in the CUI (Customize User Interface) Dialog box. Type CUI at the command prompt to bring up the CUI Editor. On the Customize tab, select Rollover Tooltips in the Customizations In pane.

Caption: Select Rollover Tooltips in the Customizations In pane to view various object types and general object properties in the right-hand pane.

When you select Rollover Tooltips, two panels display on the right side of the CUI dialog box. The panel at left lists object types. The panel at right displays general properties available for all object types. Any general properties you check when no object type is selected in the left panel will display for every object, regardless of type.

To customize rollover tooltips for a specific object type, select the object in the panel at left. If the object is not listed, select the button at the top right of the panel. This displays the Edit Object Type List dialog box. Check all object types you want to customize. Checked object types will appear in the panel at left when you select OK.

Caption: Any object types you check in the Edit Object Type List will appear in the Rollover Tooltip customization panel when you select OK.

To specify what properties will appear in a tooltip, select the object type in the panel on the left. All of its properties will appear in the panel on the right.

Caption: Select an object type in the panel at left (Line in the example above) to view and select the properties to display in the tooltip.

Check those that you want to display in the tooltip whenever you select an object of that type. Be judicious in your selections, however—you don’t want your tooltips obscuring all your geometry.

Note: You can click the General button at the bottom of the pane on the left to override the general properties of all object types. When you click on this button, a list of general properties appears along with the Reset Overrides button. Select the general properties that you want to display for all object types, then click on Reset Overrides. Note that you can still deselect a general property for a specific object type by selecting that object type in the panel on the left and unchecking the general property in the panel on the right.

Now that we’ve explained how to customize your object tooltips, we must warn you that some AutoCAD users find the tooltips annoying. They pop up everywhere, telling you things you already know and blocking your view of the geometry below. You can turn off tooltips on the Display tab of the Options dialog box. Uncheck the Show Rollover Tooltips under Windows Elements.

The Quick Properties panel, found in AutoCAD 2009 and up, is a pared-down Properties palette that shows only the properties you choose to display in it. Think of it as a halfway point between the object property tooltips and the full Properties palette.

Caption: Quick Properties panel.

Turn Quick Properties on and off using the QP button on the status bar. When Quick Properties is on, the Quick Properties panel automatically displays a list of properties whenever you select an object. You can edit the properties via the Quick Properties window. If the list of properties is longer than the Quick Properties panel will display, you can expand the panel by moving your cursor over it.

You can set a number of behavior and display parameters by right-clicking on the Quick Properties panel. When Auto-Collapse is not selected, the Quick Properties window retains its full size. Otherwise it appears at a set size regardless

A right-click menu enables you to control the behavior and display of the Quick Properties window. Starting at the bottom of the menu, when the Auto-Collapse option is disabled, the Quick Properties window maintains its full size. Location Mode lets you determine where the panel will display. When you select Cursor, the panel will appear relative to the point you picked when you selected the object. Select Float to have the panel appear in its previous location as a floating window. The Docked option displays it as a panel in the Ribbon.

Caption: Quick Properties location modes.

The Settings option brings up the Quick Properties tab in the Drafting Settings dialog box. Here you can turn Quick Properties on and specify whether the panel will display when any object is selected or only when objects with defined quick properties are selected (more on this later). The Settings box also allows you to fine-tune the location of the Quick Properties panel—you can specify the direction and distance it’s positioned relative to the cursor when the Location selection is Cursor. You can also set the number of rows that are visible when the Quick Properties panel is collapsed.

Caption: Drafting Settings has a tab for Quick Properties options.

In most respects, the Quick Properties panel behaves much like the plain old Properties palette. When you select multiple objects, only those properties common to all selected objects are displayed. Likewise, the top pull-down list allows you to select a specific object type so you can see all quick properties for that object type.

Caption: When multiple objects are selected, you can view those properties common to all selected objects.

To set the Quick Properties for different object types, select the Customize button in the upper right corner of the panel or select Customize in the right-click shortcut menu. This takes you directly to the Quick Properties entry under Ribbon Panels in the Customizations window of the Customize tab. In the right panel, you’ll see a list of defined object types on the left and, next to it, all available properties for the object type checked in the list at the left. Add and remove object types by using the Edit Object Type button at the top right of the list. See the Property Pop-Ups tip above for more details on this process.

Caption: Select an object type in the panel on the left, then check the properties to include in the Quick Properties window in the right pane.