Cursor (user interface): Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Indicator showing where text would be input}}

{{more citations needed|date=May 2017}}

{{use dmy dates|date=August 2021|cs1-dates=y}}

[[File:Text cursor blinking.gif|right|frame|A blinking text cursor while typing the word "''Wikipedia"''.]]

In [[human–computer interaction]], a '''cursor''' is an indicator used to show the current position on a [[computer monitor]] or other [[display device]] that will respond to text input.

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== Etymology ==

''Cursor'' is Latin for 'runner'. A cursor is a name given to the transparent slide engraved with a hairline used to mark a point on a [[slide rule]]. The term was then transferred to computers through analogy.

On 14 November 1963, while attending a conference on computer graphics in [[Reno, Nevada]], [[Douglas Engelbart]] of [[Augmentation Research Center]] (ARC) first expressed his thoughts to pursue his objective of developing both hardware and software computer technology to "augment" human intelligence by pondering how to adapt the underlying principles of the [[planimeter]] to inputting X- and Y-coordinate data, and envisioned something like the cursor of a [[computer mouse|mouse]] he initially called a "bug", which, in a "3-point" form, could have a "drop point and 2 orthogonal wheels".<ref name="Bardini_2000"/> He wrote that the "bug" would be "easier" and "more natural" to use, and unlike a stylus, it would stay still when let go, which meant it would be "much better for coordination with the keyboard."<ref name="Bardini_2000"/>

According to Roger Bates, a young hardware designer at ARC under [[Bill English (computer engineer)|Bill English]], the cursor on the screen was for some unknown reason also referred to as "CAT" at the time, which led to calling the new pointing device a "mouse" as well.<ref name="Markoff_2005"/><ref name="Markoff_2013"/>

== Text cursor ==

{{further|Caret navigation}}

{{see also|Text field}}

[[File: Windows Command Prompt.png|thumb|332px|The cursor for the Windows Command Prompt (appearing as an underscore at the end of the line)]]

In most [[command-line interface]]s or [[text editor]]s, the text cursor, also known as a '''[[Caret navigation|caret]]''',<ref>[http://support.microsoft.com/kb/834271/en-us FIX: The caret shape appears as a thick rectangle after you switch from the Korean Input Method Editor (IME) to English in Visual FoxPro 8.0]</ref> is an [[underscore]], a solid rectangle, or a vertical line, which may be flashing or steady, indicating where text will be placed when entered (the '''insertion point'''). In [[text mode]] displays, it was not possible to show a vertical bar between characters to show where the new text would be inserted, so an underscore or block cursor was used instead. In situations where a block was used, the block was usually created by inverting the pixels of the character using the boolean math [[exclusive or]] function.<ref>[http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT4197590 U.S. Patent #4197590]</ref> On [[text editor]]s and [[word processor]]s of modern design on [[bitmap]]ped displays, the vertical bar is typically used instead.

In a typical [[text editor|text editing application]], the cursor can be moved by pressing various keys. These include the four [[arrow keys]], the [[Page Up and Page Down keys]], the [[Home key]], the [[End key]], and various key combinations involving a [[modifier key]] such as the [[Control key]]. The position of the cursor also may be changed by moving the mouse pointer to a different ___location in the document and clicking.

The blinking of the text cursor is usually temporarily suspended when it is being moved; otherwise, the cursor may change position when it is not visible, making its ___location difficult to follow.

The concept of a blinking cursor can be attributed to Charles Kiesling Sr. via US Patent 3531796,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kiesling |first1=Charles |title=US Patent 3531796: Blinking cursor for crt display |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US3531796 |website=US3531796A - Blinking cursor for crt display - Google Patents |access-date=6 January 2022 |ref=patent}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Text size comment share tweet email Print Charles A., Sr. Kiesling obituary |url=https://www.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/13986254/ |website= Star Tribune |publisher=Star Tribune |access-date=6 January 2022 |ref=obituary}}</ref> filed in August 1967.<ref>{{cite web |title=Who invented the blinking cursor |url=https://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/33640/who-invented-the-blinking-cursor/33644 |website=mouse - Who invented the blinking cursor - User Experience Stack Exchange |publisher=Stack Exchange |access-date=6 January 2022 |ref=discussion}}</ref>

Some interfaces use an underscore or thin vertical bar to indicate that the user is in [[insert mode]], a [[mode (user interface)|mode]] where text will be [[insert key|inserted]] in the middle of the existing text, and a larger block to indicate that the user is in [[insert key|overtype]] mode, where inserted text will overwrite existing text. In this way, a block cursor may be seen as a piece of selected text one character wide, since typing will replace the text "in" the cursor with the new text.

=== Bi-directional text ===

A vertical line text cursor with a small left-pointing or right-pointing appendage is for indicating the direction of text flow on systems that support [[bi-directional text]], and is thus usually known among programmers as a 'bidi cursor'. In some cases, the cursor may split into two parts, each indicating where left-to-right and right-to-left text would be inserted.<ref>[https://developer.apple.com/legacy/mac/library/documentation/Carbon/Conceptual/ATSUI_Concepts/atsui.pdf ATSUI Programming Guide: Caret Handling], page 32.</ref>

== Pointer ==

[[File:CursorListHorizontal.png|thumb|The common cursor roles for a cursor set.]]

[[File:mouse-cursor-hand-pointer.svg|thumb|right|Common pointer types (enlarged)]]

In [[computing]], a '''pointer''' or '''mouse pointer''' (as part of a [[personal computer]] [[WIMP (computing)|WIMP]] style of interaction)<ref name="nytimes cellphone">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/science/17map.html | title=The Cellphone, Navigating Our Lives | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=February 16, 2009 | access-date=December 14, 2011 | author=Markoff, John | ___location=New York | quote=[...] so-called WIMP interface — for windows, icons, menus, pointer [...]}}</ref><ref name="microsoft ">{{cite web | url=http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=68165 | title=Haptic Issues for Virtual Manipulation | publisher=[[Microsoft]] | date=December 1996 | access-date=December 14, 2011 | author=Hinckley, Ken | quote=The Windows-Icons-Menus-Pointer (WIMP) interface paradigm dominates modern computing systems.}}</ref><ref name="microsoft input technologies">{{cite web | url=http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/kenh/papers/InputChapter.pdf | title=Input Technologies and Techniques | publisher=[[Microsoft]] | access-date=December 14, 2011 | author=Hinckley, Ken | quote=Researchers are looking to move beyond the current "WIMP" (Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointer) interface [...] }}</ref> is a symbol or graphical image on the [[computer monitor]] or other [[display device]] that echoes movements of the [[pointing device]], commonly a [[mouse (computing)|mouse]], [[touchpad]], or [[digital pen|stylus]] pen. It signals the point where actions of the user take place. It can be used in [[Text-based user interface|text-based]] or [[graphical user interface]]s to select and move other elements. It is distinct from the cursor, which responds to [[computer keyboard|keyboard]] input. The cursor may also be repositioned using the pointer.

The pointer commonly appears as an angled arrow (angled because historically that improved appearance on low-resolution screens<ref>{{cite web|title=Document from 1981 reveals why mouse cursor is tilted and not straight|url=http://hacksandstuff.com/computers/why-mouse-cursor-is-tilted-reason_1234210.html|access-date=18 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140217232416/http://hacksandstuff.com/computers/why-mouse-cursor-is-tilted-reason_1234210.html|archive-date=17 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>), but it can vary within different programs or [[operating system]]s. The use of a pointer is employed when the input method, or pointing device, is a device that can move fluidly across a screen and select or highlight objects on the screen. In GUIs where the input method relies on hard keys, such as the five-way key on many [[mobile phone]]s, there is no pointer employed, and instead, the GUI relies on a clear [[Focus (computing)|focus]] state.

The pointer echoes movements of the [[pointing device]], commonly a [[mouse (computing)|mouse]], [[touchpad]] or [[trackball]].

This kind of pointer is used to [[direct manipulation|manipulate]] elements of [[graphical user interface]]s such as menus, [[Button (computing)|button]]s, [[scrollbar]]s or any other [[Widget (GUI)|widget]].

===Appearance===

[[File:Cursor-design1-hourglass.svg|48x48px|thumb|A ''wait'' cursor replaces the pointer with an hourglass.]]