Cursor

A mouse cursor

A cursor is a shape on a computer screen that shows where actions made with the keyboard or mouse will make a change. Earlier a cursor marked a point on a slide rule.

There are 2 types of cursor that most people will use.

• The Mouse cursor: The pointer on the screen which the person using the computer can move using the computer mouse. This cursor allows the person to select or "click" items with the mouse. On most computers mouse cursors are the shape of an arrow.

A blinking text cursor, stopped in the middle of typing the word Wikipedia.

• The Text Cursor: Usually seen as a vertical line or rectangle that flashes on and off. The Cursor tells the person using the computer where they are typing things on the screen. They can type letters, numbers and symbols where the cursor is.

The computer automatically moves the cursor one space to the right when a letter, number or symbol is typed. The cursor can be moved to the start of the next line by pressing the Enter Key.

Most keyboards also have 4 cursor keys to move the text cursor up, down, left or right.