[BUG] Tooltips from SourceGit will display unexpectedly, when the app is in the background

[ozmium]

SourceGit is a fine app. However, I noticed that the Tooltips will display when the app is in the background. This is bad because it interferes with the foreground app by covering up parts of it.

Steps to reproduce the bug, using SourceGit 2025.13

SourceGit.Screen.Recording.2025-04-19.at.19.58.mp4

1. Launch SourceGit 2025.13 on either Ubuntu Linux or MacOS.
2. Clone a Git repository that contains some history. A good example is the SourceGit repository on GitHub.
3. Open the project in SourceGit and hover the mouse over some Git commit history items. Notice that the Tooltip appears for each history item, when SourceGit is in the foreground. This is OK.
4. Now switch to a different app, by putting the other app's window in front of all others, or use a keyboard shortcut for the system App Switcher.
5. While SourceGit is in the background, hover the mouse over the Git history items and observe.

Expected Result

• No Tooltip should appear from SourceGit, because SourceGit is in the background.
• The SourceGit app should not do any window interactions when it's in the background.

Actual Result

• An unexpected Tool Tip displays for each git history item in SourceGit, even though the SourceGit app is in the background. It's confusing and unwanted, because it covers up parts of the foreground app with irrelevant information.
• There is no way to prevent this unwanted tool-tip behavior.

Impact on customers

• It causes a big distraction for users, when SourceGit is in the background.
• It covers up parts of the foreground app, which disrupts users from doing their work.
• SourceGit doesn't follow the behavior of other desktop apps.
• SourceGit doesn't follow the system's UI usability guidelines.

[love-linger]

2025-04-20.11.35.31-1.mov

[ozmium]

@love-linger Yes, as you have noticed, some apps on MacOS will show Tooltips even when they are in the background.

But so far, I have only seen this done by a small minority of third-party apps. Examples are all the JetBrains apps, like IntelliJ IDEA, JetBrains Rider, Android Studio, WebStorm, PyCharm, and so on.

The majority of MacOS apps (made by Apple or third parties) will not do this. Examples are Safari, Finder, Google Chrome, Firefox, Zoom Workplace, Preview.app, SourceTree.

[love-linger]

In my video above, there're 3 app tested. Safari, Finder and JetBrains Rider.

[heartacker]

toltip.mp4

I have the same iussue using X11

[love-linger]

I do not think it is an issue. This is just a matter of how to design it. If you don't want the Window to respond to the mouse at all in the Deactive state, you only need to add the following code.

But from some software that I've tested myself above, including some system built-in components such as Finder and Safari (and explorer and Edge Browser on Windows), as well as some modern IDEs/editors such as JetBrains Rider and Visual Studio Code, all allow users to respond to mouse events when the window is not actived.

[ozmium]

I think it's OK if you want to keep the behavior of the app responding to mouseover events in the background.

But I think the main problem is that the Tooltips in SourceGit are displayed too far in the front layer, on top of all other apps. That is too distracting, because there are a lot of Tooltips in SourceGit.

Consider these suggestions for another way to fix it:

• Copy the behavior of Google Chrome on Ubuntu Linux. When Google Chrome is in the background, it will respond to mouse hover events, to highlight the tabs. The tooltip will display in a better way, which is above the Chrome window only, but not above the foreground app. Like this:

Or

• Copy the behavior of Mozilla Firefox on Linux: Turn off the Tooltips when the app is in the background. Re-enable them when the app is in the foreground.

[love-linger]

Done.