Cursor (user interface): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 08:33, 11 October 2023

Revision as of 07:54, 31 October 2023

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* Graphics-editing pointers such as brushes, pencils, or paint buckets may display when the user edits an image.

* On an edge or corner of a [[window (computing)|window]] the pointer usually changes into a double arrow (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) indicating that the user can drag the edge/corner in an indicated direction to adjust the size and shape of the window.

* The corners and edges of the whole screen may also act as [[screen hotspot]]s. According to [[Fitts's law]], which predicts the time it takes to reach a target area, moving mouse and stylus pointers to those spots is easy and fast. As the pointer usually stops when reaching a screen edge, the size of those spots can be considered of virtual infinite size, so the hot corners and edges can be reached quickly by throwing the pointer toward the edges.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://particletree.com/features/visualizing-fittss-law/ |title=Visualizing Fitts' Law |first=Kevin |last=Hale |website=Particle Tree |date=3 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2006/08/fitts-law-and-infinite-width.html |title=Fitts' Law and Infinite Width |first=Jeff |last=Atwood |author-link=Jeff Atwood |website=Coding Horror |date=9 August 2006 |access-date=2021-04-07 |archive-date=2014-02-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214030831/http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2006/08/fitts-law-and-infinite-width.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

* While a computer process is performing tasks and cannot accept user input, a wait pointer (an [[hourglass]] in [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] before [[Windows Vista|Vista]] and many other systems, spinning ring in [[Windows Vista]] and later, watch in [[classic Mac OS]], or [[spinning pinwheel]] in macOS) is displayed when the mouse pointer is in the corresponding window.

* When the pointer hovers over a [[hyperlink]], a [[mouseover]] event changes the pointer into a hand with an outstretched index finger. Often some informative text about the link may pop up in a [[tooltip]], which disappears when the user moves the pointer away. The tooltips revealed in the box depending on the implementation of the [[web browser]]; many web browsers will display the "title" of the element, the "alt" attribute, or the non-[[web standard|standard]] "tooltips" attribute. This pointer shape was first used for hyperlinks in Apple Computer's [[HyperCard]].