Textcursor

Textcursor, commonly referred to as the caret, is the visual indicator of the insertion point in a text field or editor. It shows where the next character typed will appear and is typically a blinking vertical line or block within the text. The textcursor is distinct from the mouse cursor, which indicates pointer position rather than text editing focus.

When typing, characters are inserted at the textcursor position. If there is a text selection, typing replaces the selection and the cursor moves to the end of the inserted text. Users navigate the cursor with arrow keys, Home and End, and Page Up or Page Down; many applications support word-by-word or line navigation using modifier keys. Holding Shift typically extends or reduces a selection, while Ctrl or Cmd and other modifiers move by words or grapheme clusters rather than single characters.

Rendering and appearance vary by platform and application. In plain text fields it may be a simple caret, while rich text editors can show the caret within styled text and may support multiple carets in collaborative environments. In password fields the caret is often hidden to protect input.

Technical and accessibility notes: the cursor position is tracked as an index in the document or as a coordinate in the rendered line. Implementations must handle multi-byte characters, grapheme clusters, and bidirectional text. Screen readers announce the caret position, and visual focus indicators aid visibility.