Re: [Usability] Hiding the mouse pointer when inactive

[Steve Hall <digitect mindspring com>]

On Fri, 2006-01-06 at 16:41 -0800, Corey Burger wrote:
> IMHO, it is a good general principle that programs should hide the
> mouse pointer when the mouse is in active and the person is typing.

Maybe only if the mouse is directly over the text being typed, but I
have seen plenty of users startled by this on another operating
system. (I see users not able to find their pointer even when it
*isn't* hidden.) Plus, some users have enough mouse skills and
wherewithal to occasionally leave a mouse positioned somewhere
specifically.

The real problem is deciding whether the pointer has become the cursor
or not. If it has, it should re-appear at the cursor location wherever
it has migrated to. If it hasn't, it should still be positioned at
point of last indication.

A viciously over-designed solution for the second assumption might be
to have the pointer gravitate to a "pointer nest" at screen edge after
a given delay. Imagine a slow animation where the pointer fades and
leaves a very faint comet trail on the way. Perhaps a faint outline
remains. Then on slightest mouse move, a superfast animation restores
it to the original position and hides the nest. That gets it out of
the way of typing and explains why it disappeared. But it must be fast
enough so the user doesn't try to move it from the nest position
rather than the anchor point. 

Heh, that would be a good use of desktop resources, eh? Perhaps a
faded/reversed outline would be a good start?


-- 
Steve Hall  [ digitect mindspring com ]