Re: Word-a-Day: cursor, insertion point, pointer

[Calum Benson <Calum Benson Sun COM>]

On 7 Aug 2008, at 21:17, Shaun McCance wrote:

> ============================================================
> cursor
> A symbol indicating where text will be inserted or deleted
> when the user types.  Prefer the term "insertion point" over
> "cursor".  The term "cursor" may be more appropriate when
> discussing text-based interfaces where that term is used
> more frequently.
>
> Do not use cursor as a synonym for pointer.
> ============================================================
> insertion point
> The point at which text will be inserted or deleted when the
> user types.  The insertion point is shown as a blinking line
> or a blinking rectangle.

I'd be slightly wary of the "blinking" part--that's a user preference,  
although it is the default.

Would there be any reason to give the "blinking line or blinking  
rectangle" a name as well (e.g. the "text cursor"?)

Cheeri,
Calum.

--
CALUM BENSON, Usability Engineer       Sun Microsystems Ireland
mailto:calum benson sun com            GNOME Desktop Team
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Any opinions are personal and not necessarily those of Sun Microsystems