Cursor

A cursor (also known as a caret, or pointer) is an indicator used on a computer's monitor or display device to show the position that will respond to an input device (e.g. a keyboard). Cursors can either be for text or for a computer mouse (where it may be referred to as a "mouse pointer" or simply a "pointer"). When used for the input of text in text editors and word processors, cursors are usually displayed as a vertical bar or line. In Command Prompts (such as for Windows), the cursor is instead a horizontal bar that appears at the bottom of the current text line.

When a computer mouse or other pointing device is included, another cursor is displayed (both text editing and pointing device cursors can be on-screen at the same time). This usually takes the appearance of an arrow (hence its other name "pointer"), although for specific functions (e.g. loading) it may take another design.