v150 · HTML · Hint vs Auto Reference

Hint vs Auto Reference

Side-by-side comparison of popover=auto and popover=hint across every relevant behaviour dimension, with rows highlighted in blue for properties that changed in Chrome 150.

Rows highlighted in blue are behaviours that changed or were clarified in Chrome 150's stacking model revision.

behaviour comparison

Behaviour popover=auto popover=hint
Intended use case Menus, drawers, dialogs — persistent until dismissed Tooltips, transient contextual tips — appear on hover/focus
Light dismiss (click outside) Yes — closes on outside click Yes — closes on outside click
Programmatic .showPopover() Always allowed Allowed but must use invoker pattern in strict contexts
Opening an unrelated auto Yes — same-stack dismissalupdated Yes — an already-open hint is hiddenupdated
Opening a hint while this popover is open Not dismissed — auto remains openupdated New hint replaces the previous hintupdated
Closing an auto dismisses this popover Cascades only if nested in the auto stackupdated Yes, when the hint belongs to that auto stackupdated
Position in top layer relative to each other Below hint in the top layer Above auto stackupdated
Multiple open simultaneously Only innermost (nested) autos allowed One hint at a time; opening a new hint closes previous
Closes on Escape key Yes Yes
CSS :popover-open pseudo-class Yes Yes
toggle event fired Yes Yes
Invoker button (popovertarget) Supported Supported — recommended trigger for hints

sandbox

Open both types to observe the new stacking rules live:

Auto popover
I'm in the auto stack. Open me first, then toggle the hint; I stay open.
Hint — I sit above the auto stack and dismiss independently.

migration notes

If your code assumes a tooltip cannot appear while a menu is open, that pattern changes in Chrome 150. Show related hints deliberately, and hide them explicitly when changing to an unrelated menu.

// Chrome 150: open the menu first, then the contextual hint.
menuPopover.showPopover();
hintPopover.showPopover(); // menu remains open

// When changing menus, close the hint explicitly for clear intent.
hintPopover.hidePopover(); // explicit, clear intent

see also

implementation reference

Need the exact API surface, compatibility boundaries, errors, lifecycle, and source links? Read the matching gendn reference ↗