Hint

Hint is CrossFly’s non-modal ephemeral notification: it typically appears near the bottom of the screen, shows a short message and disappears on its own after a while (with a fade). It does not block interaction with the rest of the UI. It is the modernized replacement for the old Toast — same API — and also covers the case of the old ToolTip (both removed from the framework).

Hint does not extend Window: it is a utility class with a static API that internally creates a ToastWindow.

🟢 · Package: dev.crossfly.ui · Extends: — (static utility) · Config: static fields

When to use

Passive, brief feedback: “Saved!”, “Failed to connect”, “Copied”.
Transient status that requires no action from the user.

When NOT to use

Something that requires a decision/confirmation → use Alert or ActionSheet.

Appearance

Dark rounded capsule (default 0xFF303030, white text) horizontally centered, positioned at ~85% of the screen height. Appears and disappears with a smooth fade.

Complete example (copy, paste and run)

package com.exemplo;

import dev.crossfly.ui.*;
import dev.crossfly.ui.layout.*;

/** Runnable main screen. Point the launcher (classname) and run: gradlew :lwjgl3:run */
public class MainWindow extends Window
{
   @Override
   public void onShow() throws Exception
   {
      super.onShow();
      setLayout(new VerticalLayout());

      Label titulo = new Label("Toque para ver um Hint");
      add(LAY_AUTO, titulo);

      // Hint is static: a Button triggers the ephemeral notification in onAction
      Button salvar = new Button("Salvar")
         .onAction(c -> Hint.show("Salvo com sucesso!", 2000));
      add(LAY_AUTO, salvar);

      Button falhar = new Button("Simular erro")
         .onAction(c -> Hint.show("Falha ao conectar", 2500));
      add(LAY_AUTO, falhar);
   }
}

The snippets below show only the core (what goes inside onShow()). To run them, place them in the MainWindow skeleton above.

Basic usage

// Message visible for 2 seconds, then disappears on its own
Hint.show("Salvo com sucesso!", 2000);

Display API (static)

Overload	Description
`Hint.show(String message, int delay)`	Default position/padding.
`Hint.show(String message, int delay, Window parentWindow)`	Sets the parent window.
`Hint.show(String message, int delay, Window parentWindow, Relative at, Gap innerGap)`	Full form: vertical position (`at`) and internal padding (`innerGap`).

The first two delegate to the third with null in the missing fields.

Parameter	Type	Meaning
`message`	`String`	Text. `null` hides the current hint.
`delay`	`int`	Milliseconds visible. `INFINITE`/`INFINITE_NOANIM` keep it on screen.
`parentWindow`	`Window`	Optional parent; default = topmost window.
`at`	`Relative`	`START`(top) / `CENTER` / `END`(bottom) or a relative value. `null` uses `position`.
`innerGap`	`Gap`	Internal padding. `null` uses the static `ingap`.

Global configuration (static fields)

The entire appearance is controlled by shared statics — changing them affects all subsequent hints.

Field	Type	Default	What it does
`Hint.backColor`	`int`	`0xFF303030`	Background color.
`Hint.foreColor`	`int`	`WHITE`	Text color.
`Hint.position`	`Relative`	`Relative.ofScreen(0.85f)`	Default vertical position.
`Hint.ingap`	`Gap`	`Gap.ofFont(0.7f, 0.35f, 0.7f, 0.35f)`	Default internal padding.
`Hint.font`	`Font`	`Font.get().bold()`	Text font.
`Hint.fade`	`int`	`200`	Alpha target in animated mode.
`Hint.INFINITE`	`int`	`Integer.MAX_VALUE`	Infinite duration with animation.
`Hint.INFINITE_NOANIM`	`int`	`Integer.MIN_VALUE`	Infinite duration without animation.

States

Auto-dismiss by time when delay is finite.
Persistent with INFINITE/INFINITE_NOANIM — must be closed manually with Hint.show(null, 0).
Hints do not stack: a new one replaces the current one.

Error at the top, in red, restoring the static

Hint.backColor = 0xFFB00020;
Hint.show("Falha ao salvar", 2500, null, Relative.START, null);
Hint.backColor = 0xFF303030; // restores the default for the next hints

Persistent hint and manual removal

Hint.show("Conectando...", Hint.INFINITE);
// ... when finished:
Hint.show(null, 0); // message == null hides the current hint

Custom padding via Gap

Hint.show("Detalhes copiados", 1800, null, Relative.CENTER, Gap.ofFont(1f, 0.5f, 1f, 0.5f));

Best practices

Use it for passive, brief feedback; never for decisions.
Prefer passing at/innerGap in the call over mutating the statics, for one-off adjustments.
When mutating a static globally (e.g. backColor), restore it afterward to avoid leaking state.

Common mistakes

INFINITE without closing — it stays on screen forever; close it with Hint.show(null, ...).
No window on top (empty stack) — the hint simply does not appear.
Expecting hints to accumulate — they don’t; the new one replaces the previous.

Migration (Toast/ToolTip removed)

Toast.show(...) migrates 1:1 to Hint.show(...) (same signatures and statics). ToolTip has no direct replacement (there is no more press-and-hold) — use a Hint positioned with at/position if you need an ephemeral tip.