I think the strange difference in apparent behavior is because both Safari and Mail have quite long delay times before the tool tip shows up. So if you don't hover long enough, you don't see the tip. I don't see any way to turn them off. There's an interesting UI issue here. Why not use words instead of icons for the buttons? It's especially stupid to see a word button, such as "Reload" with a tool tip that appears reading "Reload." Stephen Hart http://eugraph.com