Questions tagged [cursor]
An interactive indicator showing the location on screen that will accept the input from a keyboard or pointing device (such as mouse).
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Why do desktop apps not use pointer cursor [duplicate]
I was wondering if there is a reason why most desktop applications don't user a pointer cursor (pointing hand, see below) to show that a button or element is clickable, but always show the default ...
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Is there any working straight or reflected mouse cursor theme? [closed]
OK, it's clear that mouse cursor has it's shape by historical reasons. But since 1995, didn't anybody make usable straight or reflected mouse cursor? MS Word uses reflected mouse cursor sometimes. But ...
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What should the Windows "Up" or "Alternate Select" cursor be used for?
I'm working on a Xamarin effect to enable cross-platform custom cursors, and ran into a cursor I have never seen used before on Windows:
In the Windows Runtime API, it's referred to as UpArrow, and ...
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Should non editable text have the default cursor on hover?
I'm seeing more and more website adding a global CSS body {cursor: default} for the cursor to be default when hovering non editable text.
I'm guessing the goal is to make a difference between ...
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when to use "wait" and when "busy" mouse cursor
I am developing a desktop application with Qt framework. When there is a task running which causes the UI to be blocked for a while, I would like to use a mouse cursor indicating that the user should ...
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Mouse pointer - reason for it changing direction in visual studio [duplicate]
We all know the generic arrow mouse pointer points to the left, however in visual studio if you hover over the line number column in your editor it switches and points to the right. Does anybody know ...
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Resize Cursor - Col/Row vs East-West/North-South
I have a website with 2 panels. The user can resize these two panel using drag-n-drop.
I want to change the mouse cursor, when the mouse is hovering over the edge of these two panels, to a Resize-...
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Cursor usage in different application elements
I am working on an application that is mostly used by desktop users. So I am trying to perfect the use of the cursor css-rules.
First of all, I have read and try to follow the practice of having ...
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Button Behavior and when to trigger on release
I am writing menu logic and was wondering if there are any general rules for when an on-screen button's function should trigger on release, vs when to trigger on press?
(A release trigger requires a ...
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What's the name of this "bubble" for selecting the cursor position?
I am trying implement something similar to this "drop" or "bubble under cursor" used in Android for selecting cursor position, pasting, etc. but I am having trouble to find the name of it.
Bonus, if ...
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Differences between links and buttons in a web app or a website in action, affordance, and user experience
I know this question may have been asked before in a different way, but what I'm looking for is that with all the differences between links and buttons, what is important in displaying them in the eye ...
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Should anchors acting as buttons use the pointer cursor?
I've styled my webapp such that buttons use the default cursor, anchors use the pointer cursor (obviously), and buttons acting as anchors use the pointer cursor.
Semantically, should an anchor ...
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How to show zoom capability?
I would like to consult with you about a zoom-in functionality we would like to add to a module we're adding to our data SaaS product - wire-frame depicted here: .
We have clickable bubbles, and we ...
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Are cursor trail effects frowned upon and why?
A client asked me to add a cursor trail effect to their website. By trail effect I mean something like debris coming off the cursor as you move it around the page. Specifically, my client asked for ...
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How to determine whether custom or "standard" cursors are to be used in a software application?
There are many applications that rely only on the standard cursors (normal cursor for pointing at something, cursor for showing an operation is currently in progress, text cursor etc.) that are ...
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Why don't <button> HTML elements have a CSS cursor pointer by default?
A friend was asking me why <button> HTML elements don't have a CSS cursor pointer by default?
It is the default behavior for links, and can be achieved on a button with
button { cursor:pointer;...
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Tooltip CSS cursor
I am at a bit of a loss as to what cursor I should be using for tooltips that have no click through behaviour. I have a hover only tooltip are I currently use the CSS cursor:
cursor: pointer
However ...
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Drag and drop in one axis (reorder) - which cursor?
I was wondering which hover cursor is the best choice for dragging elements in one axis only, for example in reordering elements among listing.
cursor: move; It has four arrows, so it's misleading, ...
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Why does the cursor type vary?
All applications in Mac OS and their web interfaces on iCloud vary with their cursor type. My question is for the same apps, why does the cursor type vary between the OS and Web?
Please refer the ...
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Relative position for the mouse pointer when dragging-rotating a shape
When clicking in a handle (in blue in the image below) that allows to rotate a shape, you don't always click in the center of it.
My question is how do you deal with this (Δx, Δy) small vector (in ...
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Why does the cursor stop blinking after 10 seconds in some programs?
In several programs I've used, the cursor stops blinking after the user has not interacted with the program for several seconds. gnome-terminal and gedit both do this, and I can't find any reasoning ...
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Have clickable elements been a default cursor?
We often get a confusion whether to use hand cursor or default cursors for buttons and other clickable elements.
If you consider iCloud and Onedrive both are having their native and web Interfaces, In ...
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Using pointer mouse cursor shape on controls
Microsoft
talks about affordance
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/dn742466.aspx
Google
talks about navigational elements vs action elements
W3C
The cursor is a pointer that ...
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Draggable canvas
I have a draggable canvas, in the way that the user will have to navigate by dragging the surface, but how do I inform the user that it is actually draggable?
So far I have an open hand when not ...
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Is the context-menu cursor a useful replacement for the pointer when opening a context-menu?
To connote that an element opens a menu and is not a link, we are using cursor: context-menu. See example.
Our target browsers all support the cursor. I can't find any relevant discussion on the ...
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Why are CSS cursor types so rare on the web?
Coming across this handy CSS Cursor tool I wondered: why are the CSS cursor types other than default, pointer and text so rare on the web? Even most web applications don't go further than these three ...
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Standards for two-finger touch gestures?
I tried to define the follow gestures in a remote desktop app. (Native Touch vs. Cursor Mode) I am worried that the two finger behaviors are too difficult.
One-finger (native touch)
One-finger tap = ...
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When hovering over a chart, which cursor:pointer style should be used?
What is best practice for cursor pointer choice when hovering over a chart that contains interactive elements? It currently seems to be the standard pointer which does not inform or educate the user.
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Less contrast of text cursor over dark input box
We all know dark UI looks damn sexy. The problem is that, when the pointer hovers over a dark input box, the default black cursor has low contrast. Since this could confuse users, what might be the ...
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Why does the cursor have a tail?
Look at your cursor.
What's the purpose of its tail—the small rectangular portion at the bottom-right? To me, it follows that it would be equally useful without a tail. I can certainly see why its ...
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Why is the I-beam pointer shaped the way it is? [closed]
Is there a particular reason? I've always wondered why.
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Magnifying glass cursor
I have had a quick look on this site but haven't found anything to help me (unless my search terms were poor). Anyway I came across a post a while back saying that for the cursor on zoom, a magnifying ...
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When to use grab vs move cursor?
I am making an app with a drag and drop UI. I plan on changing the cursor when hovering over the draggable elements.
What's the difference between the move and grab cursors?
Can they be used ...
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What are the benefits of using a black cursor with white outline, over white with black?
I've used a lot of operating systems, and those that support mouse cursors usually default to a black one with a white outline, with the notable exception of Windows. I used to think that this is ...
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Which "alphabetic" keys are commonly used on Qwerty for cursor movements?
Which are the "layouts" that have been successfully used when making "alphabetic" keys on Qwerty used as cursor movement keys or as arrow keys?
Here are the two i know of:
<h>: <Left>, &...
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What is a good mouse cursor to point at objects in diagrams?
Do you know of any study or evaluation of the use of mouse cursors specifically designed for the use in diagrams?
For example I'm thinking about using a cross hair instead of an arrow cursor when I ...
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Office 2013 smooth cursor while typing
The cursor movement has been animated in the Office 2013. (I'm not sure if it affects some other applications too.) Basically the cursor moves smoothly as you type now letters. Apparently this is ...
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Why did Windows add a pointer trail feature?
So Windows has had, for a while now, a pointer trail feature under the visibility section. But that's something I don't understand.
The pointer trail itself is something I find to be annoying, and I ...
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How to use the "help" cursor property?
The W3C allows different CSS cursor properties.
Some of them are really common, and I think a majority of users understand them because they saw them per default on any website (text when the text ...
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Why Does Google's Material Design Not Use Proper Cursor? [closed]
It seems to me a usability issue to not indicate to the user clickable affordance on elements such as tabs and sliders; likewise, it seems odd to me that disabled buttons do not have cursor: not-...
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Which pixel on or near the cursor does the user intend to click?
I have annotated the image below with 4 colored rectangles indicating possible cursor click points.
Which is the best pixel location to use when deciding which pixel the user intended to click?
My ...
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When should I use cursor:default?
On a website, text will by default have the cursor:text type which looks like this:
However I've noticed some websites use the cursor:default type on text.
When should cursor:default be used on text?...
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Can the mouse interaction be considered as a touch interaction?
I believe that experience comes after perception. So UX can be defined as the user's learning towards a perception.
In the case of a web application, where user experiences mostly through sight, can ...
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Mouse cursor when hover over no-link menu item
Now I know that many of you would strongly advise against using no-link menu items and I have read up on the reasons. However the demo site we've been hosting has gotten a lot of feedback from users ...
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Why is the hand symbol used for the hand-cursor?
The question Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight? brought up this related question.
Why is the hand symbol used instead of any other symbol, say a spade, for the purpose of a ...
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Who created the Mac Mickey pointer cursor?
I just found out why the mouse cursor is slightly tilted*, and asked myself why the pointer cursor is a little Mickey hand. Do you guys know why is it like this and who invented it?
Related Question: ...
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Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight?
Is this a legacy thing or does a tilted cursor serves a purpose? I can tell that, the angle provides a totally vertical left edge which helps when highlighting text but what else apart from that?
...
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Where to use the default cursor and pointer cursor in button and label?
In google drive i found some buttons and labels are found to be inconsistent in cursors.
Are there commonly accepted conventions as to default cursors and pointer cursors in web and desktop ...
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Are hourglass cursors still relevant?
I had a co-worker recommend that I set the cursor to an hourglass (probably the progress cursor as described here) while an operation completes, in a C# dialog. The operation can take a few seconds to ...
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Draggable and Edditable - How to solve?
I have elements on a web app im designing. Its sort of a WYSIWYG thing for a CMS.
The elements are boxes. There are different types of boxes, or "micro templates" as I call them.
One is a heading ...
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