The input control may provide a hint, prompt or tooltip. Hints are instructional text placed outside but adjacent to the text input box. Prompts are commonly known as watermarks and comprise instructional text placed within the text input box. Tooltips are instructional text that appear when the mouse pointer is placed over the text input box.

The wording of hints and prompts is left to the designers of clinical applications. Examples of hints, prompts, and tooltips are shown below.