How can I make the documentation pop-up on hover in PyCharm?

Question

I would like to know how to configure PyCharm so that when I hover over an object or method I get a (formatted) pop-up containing the doc-string. How can I do this?

Answer 1

Original feature request ticket: http://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/IDEA-66333

If PyCharm you are using is on 131.xxx branch or newer (can be found on "Help | About") then such option is available under Settings/Preferences | Editor | General | Show quick doc on mouse move.

For some earlier builds (when GUI controls where not yet available) it was possible to activate it by adding auto.show.quick.doc=true into IDE_INSTALL_FOLDER/bin/idea.properties file.

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Modern IDE versions have it at Settings/Preferences | Editor | Code Editing | Show quick documentation on mouse move and it is enabled by default:

(The screenshot is from PhpStorm but the option name & path is the same across IDEA-based IDEs)

Answer 2

If you are stopped at a breakpoint, PyCharm doesn't show quick documentation on hover even when the box is checked, because it is in "inspect variable on hover" mode. In that case, hold down Cmd while you hover (on a Mac).

Answer 3

When Settings | Editor | General | Show quick doc on mouse move is checked already, look for a window Documentation, which be explicitly opened with Edit | Quick Documentation.

I had barely noticed that window, but quick doc may show up in there. Instead, to show the doc hovered near the mouse, right-click on the header of the Documentation tool window and select Open as popup.