Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Bill D
Date: 24 May 23 - 06:43 PM

What Helen said...

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Helen
Date: 24 May 23 - 03:45 PM

I use Windows. Yes, the cursor changes.

Referring to the Table which DaveRo linked to on 23 May 23 - 05:42 PM

General - default is the main cursor - it looks like the outline of an arrow.

Internet link - Links and status - looks like a pointing hand when I hover over a link

Selection - text is in the text box (cursor looks like "I")

Drag and drop - grab - looks like a grabbing hand when I grab and move e.g. Google map to move to the location I am interested in.

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Stanron
Date: 24 May 23 - 02:40 PM

Hi Bill. It's years since I used Windows. Does the cursor change when it goes over an internet link, or a selection box or a text editor/word processor?

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Bill D
Date: 24 May 23 - 12:32 PM

In Windows browsers, I can choose among several cursors. I picked a 'pen' that had a very sharp point.

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Helen
Date: 24 May 23 - 06:05 AM

Sorry, I obviously am not seeing clearly enough. I meant thanks Stanron. I need to clean the lens.

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Helen
Date: 24 May 23 - 06:04 AM

Yes Dave, I see what you are saying. LOL

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Stanron
Date: 24 May 23 - 05:35 AM

Thanks for that Dave. I get it. I usually middle click on Mudcat links and these days anything I do by hand is a bit shaky to say the least.

Helen; If you take the AI out of aliens there is a potential to see more clearly.

Thanks to Joe and others for their replies.

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: DaveRo
Date: 24 May 23 - 02:27 AM

Stanron wrote: It looks like it's the 'grabber' in DaveRo's reply. I just can't figure out what it is that I do that turns it on. It doesn't happen every time I click on a link. If I spot it and click in space it seems to drop a link, which fades away, and the cursor returns to the arrow type.

You're accidentally dragging the link rather than cleanly clicking it.

If you hold down the left mouse button then click and drag the link you should see the link text move across the screen for as long as you hold he left mouse button down.

Try dragging it to the tabs bar, to the right of the last tab. At that point the cursor will change again to indicate you can drop it there, which opens the link as a tab. There are various other places you can drop it - like on the toolbar. You can also - probably - drag it onto another program window like you often can with files to upload them.

All that applies to this Debian laptop. I don't know if Windows does that. Sometimes website include code which interferes with normal browser actions.

The cursor is defined in CSS BTW. So in my Mudcat Browser Tools addon I gave the green buttons a pointy finger to show they are buttons - being too lazy to put a fancy shaded box round them ;)

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 23 May 23 - 11:23 PM

Named by PC Magazine as one of the worst tech products of all time.(May 26, 2006)

Comet Curser changed into Bart Simpson, Dilbert, or one of thousands of other cutesy icons while you were visiting certain Web sites. But Comet had other habits that were not so cute.

For example, it assigned your computer a unique ID and phoned home whenever you visited a Comet-friendly Web site. When you visited certain sites, it could install itself into Internet Explorer without your knowledge or explicit consent. And it was bundled with RealPlayer 7.

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Always up chuck your cookies.

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Helen
Date: 23 May 23 - 08:07 PM

It's aliens, interfering with our daily lives. Obviously! LOL

Or maybe AI is taking over the universe, one grabber at a time.

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Stanron
Date: 23 May 23 - 07:02 PM

Hi Helen. Thanks for the reply but nothing actually disappears. It looks like it's the 'grabber' in DaveRo's reply. I just can't figure out what it is that I do that turns it on. It doesn't happen every time I click on a link. If I spot it and click in space it seems to drop a link, which fades away, and the cursor returns to the arrow type. Strange.

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Helen
Date: 23 May 23 - 06:52 PM

Grabber - that's what I see when I am grabbing a specific point in a Google map, for example, and pulling it down or around to get to the place I want to look at.

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 23 May 23 - 06:02 PM

I suppose there are two main styes of cursor, and arrow and a pointy finger. The arrow lets you insert the cursor at a very specific point on your screen. The pointy finger lets you do something - usually click a link.

But Wikipedia (click) shows a whole lot of other cursors, just to confuse you.

Have fun.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: DaveRo
Date: 23 May 23 - 05:42 PM

a hand without a pointy finger

Is it the grabber in this table?

Yes, addons can change the cursor.

Subject: RE: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Helen
Date: 23 May 23 - 05:37 PM

Hi Stanron, I use Firefox too. I like it.

This may not be your specific issue with the cursor, but it might help.

cursor problem on/off screen

One of the suggestions on that page is to disable all Add-ons and see if the problem goes away, and then enable each Add-on one by one to see if the problem reoccurs.

Subject: Tech: Cursor, Caret, Pointy thing?
From: Stanron
Date: 23 May 23 - 04:52 PM

Anyone know the proper name? I use Linux Mint with the Firefox browser. On Mudcat the default shape is an Arrow. Move it over a link and it becomes a hand with a pointy finger. Every so often, for no apparent reason, it becomes a hand without a pointy finger and acts differently. What's going on?. Is it just my system or what?