Replaces the built-in Chrome tooltip to enable easier reading of the mouseover title-text for popular webcomics, such as xkcd.

Latest Version

Version

3.0.0

Update

February 21, 2024

Size

30.07KiB

Developer

Comic Text Extension

The source code for this extension is available on Github.

https://github.com/dmillz/Comic-Text

NOTE: There is no way for me to respond to questions posted in the comments here in the Chrome Web Store. If you have a question, please contact me on Github instead:

https://github.com/dmillz/Comic-Text/issues

What is Comic Text?
------------------------------
Comic Text is a Chrome extension that seamlessly replaces the built-in Chrome tooltip to enable easier reading of the mouseover title-text for popular web comics, such as xkcd.

New! Comic Text is now capable of scanning the entire page and replacing tooltips for *any* page element, not just images. Turn on the option by accessing the Comic Text extension options ([Puzzle Piece Icon] > Comic Text [3-dot menu] > Options)

What's wrong with Chrome's mouseover text tooltips?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
In years past, Chrome's title text tooltips didn't last long enough to read the entirety of the mouseover title text on many popular web comics, such as [xkcd](xkcd.com). By default, Chrome's tooltips disappeared after about 5 seconds; but with Comic Text installed, they will last as long as your mouse remains over the image.

Chrome's default tooltip behavior was fixed in 2014 (https://issues.chromium.org/issues/40266368), but this extension still improves tooltip behavior and enables customization of the appearance of the tooltip text for improved accessibility.

Does this extension work on websites other than xckd.com?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes! By default, the Comic Text will \"just work\" when browsing xkcd.com, and you may use the extension options to customize the styling of the popup, or to enable Comic Text on your other favorite sites. (Access the extension options by clicking [Wrench Icon] > Tools > Extensions, and then find the \"Options\" link under the Comic Text extension.)

Why does the extension require permission to access \"Your data on all websites\"?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The extension works by modifying the HTML/CSS of any pages that are on the whitelist. On image mouseover, the script removes any existing title text of the image in order to suppress the built-in tooltips, and then pops-up a new DOM element, cleverly styled to mimic the default Chrome tooltip.

The extension requires the \"Your data on all websites\" permission so that it can modify the page you're browsing in this manner, but that's the only thing it does. It does not save any information (besides it's own options), nor does it communicate with the outside world. Everyone is welcome to examine (and reuse, remix, & share) the source code:

https://github.com/dmillz/Comic-Text

Comic Text doesn't seem to work on .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you find a bug, or just have any other question, please submit it as an issue on Github:

https://github.com/dmillz/Comic-Text/issues

Thanks!

The Comic Text popup sometimes gets in my way.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
You may dismiss the Comic Text tooltip by right-clicking on it.

# Thank you, Randall Munroe

Thank you, Randall Munroe, for the hilarious web comic, and also for releasing your work under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/). All of Comic Text's icons, images, screenshots, and inspiration have been derived from xkcd (http://xkcd.com).

# Changelog

## [3.0.0] - 2024-02-20

### Changed

- Updated to support \"manifest v3\" extension requirements.
- No more jQuery, just browser native APIs.

### Added

- Experimental support for dark mode. This will only take effect for users who have dark mode enabled, but have not customized their CSS.

## [2.0.0] - 2018-08-31

### Changed

- Updated to support v2 Chrome extension requirements.

## [1.2.4] - 2011-09-02

### Added

- The Comic Text tooltip may now be dimissed by right clicking on it.

## [1.2.1] - 2011-08-07

### Added

- Optionally replace tooltips for *ALL* HTML elements, not just images.
- Shiny new options page.

### Changed

- Rewritten tooltip engine for superior performance.

## [1.1.2] - 2011-02-24

### Fixed

- Fixed bug in the way the popup was being positioned
- Extension should now load slightly faster

## [1.1.1] - 2011-02-18

### Fixed

- Fixed loading of default whitelist.

## [1.1.0] - 2011-02-12

### Changed

- Some \"under the hood\" changes.

## [1.0.5] - 2011-01-31

### Changed

- Popup is now positioned offset below the mouse cursor.
- Another minor CSS tweak.

### Fixed

- Fix for issue where popups would get \"stuck\" when quickly mousing between multiple titled images.

## [1.0.4] - 2011-01-30

### Changed

- CSS updated to more closely mimic Chrome.

## [1.0.2] - 2011-01-29

### Changed

- CSS updated to more closely mimic Chrome.

## [1.0.1] - 2011-01-27

### Changed

- Fix to support Google Reader

## [1.0.0] - 2011-01-27

### Changed

- Initial Release

Source Manifest.json

{"update_url": "https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx", "name": "Comic Text", "author": "David Mills", "manifest_version": 3, "version": "3.0.0", "description": "Replaces the built-in Chrome tooltip to enable easier reading of the mouseover title-text for popular webcomics, such as xkcd.", "content_scripts": [ { "matches": [ "" ], "js": [ "comic-text.js" ], "run_at": "document_end" } ], "web_accessible_resources": [{ "matches": [""], "resources": ["config.js"] }], "options_page": "options.html", "background": { "service_worker": "background.js", "type": "module" }, "icons": { "16": "sigh-16.png", "48": "sigh-48.png", "128": "sigh-128.png" }, "permissions": [ "storage" ]}

Download CRX(30.07KiB)

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User reviews

Xalomon (ID: 000000fce49f3da0) Voted 4 ★ - Updated 10/14/2023 I wanted to use this to copy the content of the tooltips that appear (not on images but on links), and it works, but it's a bit cumbersome as right-clicking makes the tooltip disappear when showing the right-click menu, making it impossible to carry this action with the mouse alone (like when copying normal text) and requiring to use a keyboard shortcut like CTRL+C for it. Otherwise, excellent addon.

Simmon Keith Barney (ID: 0000005de18e53cf) Voted 3 ★ - Updated 09/04/2016 Yeah, it works great on xkcd, but I had trouble using it elsewhere (specifically http://lernu.net).

Andrew Irino (ID: 000000ba64e38c5c) Voted 5 ★ - Updated 05/22/2016 Lets you set the CSS for the tooltip as well as the URLs to activate on. Basically perfect.

Get source code (.Zip)

Drop .crx file here or click
the button to choose the file

Comic Text