leftpointing

Leftpointing is a directional descriptor used for objects that face or point toward the left. In typography and digital interfaces, it is commonly applied to symbols, icons, or glyphs that direct attention leftward, and to controls indicating backward or previous actions in a sequence.

Examples of left-pointing glyphs include the leftwards arrow (←) used to indicate movement to the left, and navigation icons for back or previous. In typesetting and writing, left-pointing angle quotation marks appear in some languages; the single left-pointing angle quotation mark ‹ and the double left-pointing angle quotation mark « are encoded in Unicode as U+2039 and U+00AB respectively, with their right-pointing counterparts U+203A and U+00BB used to close them. These marks form part of guillemet conventions in French and other languages.

Unicode and fonts: rendering depends on font support; many fonts provide these characters, but some older fonts or limited font sets may lack them, affecting rendering in documents or webpages. In web design, left-pointing symbols often serve as navigation cues and should be accompanied by text or accessible labels for screen readers to ensure clarity for users relying on assistive technologies.

See also: rightpointing, guillemets, arrows.