List Model Controls - The Definitive Guide to Java Swing - page 480

Figure 13-13. A JList with different element-level tooltip text
Listing 13-11. Custom Tooltips for List Elements
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class PropertiesList extends JList {
SortedListModel model;
Properties tipProps;
public PropertiesList(Properties props) {
model = new SortedListModel();
setModel(model);
ToolTipManager.sharedInstance().registerComponent(this);
tipProps = props;
addProperties(props);
}
private void addProperties(Properties props) {
// Load
Enumeration names = props.propertyNames();
while (names.hasMoreElements()) {
model.add(names.nextElement());
}
}