Search Card Hover Text #

Customize the tooltip text that appears when visitors hover over the name link, photo link, or image on a search-result card. Supports animal field value interpolation using {FieldName} syntax. Available to Junior license and above.

How It Works #

Every search-result card has hoverable elements: the animal name link, the photo link, and the photo itself. Each carries a title attribute (the standard tooltip) plus a matching aria-label so screen readers announce the same text sighted users see. PetMatchPro ships method-specific defaults that vary by what the visitor is looking at:

• Adopt: “Learn More About {Name}”
• Lost: “Have You Seen {Name}?”
• Found: “Help Rehome This {Species}”
• List (PetPoint only): “Learn More About {Name}”
• Preferred (AnimalsFirst only): “Learn More About {Name}”
• Featured: “Learn More About {Name}”

Found cards intentionally lead with species rather than name because most found animals arrive at intake with no name. The lost wording invites the visitor into the role of helper. Adopt, list, preferred, and featured share the same action-oriented phrasing.

Admin Settings #

Navigate to General > Display Options > Search Card Hover Text. Text input fields appear per enabled method type:

• card_hover_text_adopt
• card_hover_text_lost (only when lost is enabled)
• card_hover_text_found (only when found is enabled)
• card_hover_text_list (PetPoint, only when list is enabled)
• card_hover_text_preferred (AnimalsFirst, only when preferred is enabled)
• card_hover_text_featured

Each row’s helper text shows the English default. Leave the field blank to use that default; type any text to override it.

Field Interpolation #

Hover text supports two kinds of {token} placeholders. Pick the kind that fits the job:

1. Universal tokens (recommended) #

Two tokens are normalized across all three partners and always produce readable text, even when the shelter record is incomplete. Use these when you want one phrase that works on every site without tweaking it per partner.

The {Name} fallback exists because shelter systems sometimes return an intake number (e.g. “60100465”) or nothing at all in the name field for newly-arrived strays. The fallback prevents tooltips like “Have you seen 60100465?” from ever appearing.

2. Raw partner field tokens #

If you need a field beyond name and species — breed, age, sex, color, location, etc. — use the field key from your partner’s API. These keys are partner-specific, so a shortcode written for PetPoint will not interpolate the same on AnimalsFirst.

Raw tokens are case-sensitive and have no fallback: if the field is missing or blank, the token expands to an empty string. Unrecognized tokens are silently removed.

Common tokens by partner #

This is the quick reference of the most common partner field keys you will reach for. The full field set for each partner is much larger — everything in the API response is available as a token.

How to confirm a token works on your site: open any animal’s detail page, view the page source (right-click → View Page Source), and search for the field key. Anything PetMatchPro renders on the detail page is available as a hover-text token. The fastest sanity check is to set the hover text to "Test: {YourTokenHere}" and reload the search page — if the value shows up in the tooltip, the token is correct.

Examples #

Mix universal and raw tokens freely. The two-flavor system means a single shortcode can lean on {Name}/{Species} for the human-friendly framing and use partner-specific raw tokens for the details.

PetPoint #

Meet {Name} at our shelter
Apply to adopt {Name} the {Species} today
Have you seen {AnimalName}? Last seen near {Jurisdiction}
{Name} is a {primarybreed} looking for a home

AnimalsFirst #

Help find {Name}
Inquire about {Name} the {breed}
Found {Species} in {city}
{Name} is {age} years old

RescueGroups #

Sponsor {Name}'s care
Learn more about {animalName} the {animalBreed}
Adopt {Name} for {animalAdoptionFee}

When to use which #

• Use universal tokens ({Name}, {Species}) when the phrase needs to read sensibly even for unnamed animals (lost/found cards, generic adoption pitches), or when the same shortcode might run on more than one partner.
• Use raw partner tokens when you need a specific data point (breed, age, fee) and you accept that the field may be empty for some animals.
• Combine them when the framing should be safe but the details should be specific: "Adopt {Name} the {primarybreed} {Species}" reads “Adopt This Dog the Labrador Retriever Dog” in the worst case — not great, but never broken.

Shortcode Parameter #

Override the card hover text on a specific page using card_hover_text:

[pmp-search type="adopt" card_hover_text="Apply to adopt {Name} today!"]
[pmp-search type="lost" card_hover_text="Have you seen {Name} near {Jurisdiction}?"]

This parameter is Junior-tier or above. On Free tier the parameter is silently stripped and the built-in default is used.

Priority Chain #

1. Shortcode parameter card_hover_text (highest priority, per-page)
2. Admin setting card_hover_text_{method_type} (site-wide default per method)
3. Built-in method default (e.g., “Have You Seen {Name}?” for lost)

Universal & Combination Templates #

Universal templates (PetPoint universal-search-default, AnimalsFirst universal-search-*) can render mixed-method pages — typically AnimalsFirst’s lost_found_combination mode where lost and found animals share a single results grid. The hover text resolves per card from each animal’s record, so on the same page a lost dog will hover as “Have You Seen Rex?” while a found cat next to it will hover as “Help Rehome This Cat”. You don’t need to do anything special — it just works.

Accessibility #

Every title attribute is paired with a matching aria-label on the same element. Screen readers announce the aria-label text. title alone is ignored by most screen readers, which is why the pairing matters.

Next Steps #

• Button Hover Text — The companion feature for detail-page action buttons
• [pmp-search] Reference — Full search shortcode parameter reference
• Parameters by License Tier — Feature comparison by tier