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In computing, a cursor is an indicator used to show the position on a Computer Monitor or other Display Device that will respond to input. In most Command Line Interface s, the cursor is a blinking Underscore or solid rectangle, indicating where text will be placed when entered. For example, a typical MS-DOS prompt appears as: C:\> _ Some interfaces use an underscore to indicate that the user is in insert mode, where text will be inserted in the middle of the existing text, and a larger block to indicate that the user is in Overtype mode, where inserted text will overwrite existing text. Interfaces driven by a Computer Mouse or other Pointing Device add a second cursor to show the current position of the mouse pointer. In Text User Interface s, such as early versions of Microsoft Windows , this cursor is frequently a solid rectangle; depending on the interface, the rectangle may always be a single color, or may be the opposite color of whatever lies "below" it. Graphical User Interface s usually use an arrow-like pointer to show the mouse position, and a solid line as a text insertion point. (Some users refer to the insertion-point cursor as a '' Caret '' to distinguish it from the mouse cursor; others use the terms mouse ''pointer'' and text ''cursor'' to likewise disambiguate.) The blinking of the text cursor is usually temporary suspended when it is being moved; otherwise, the cursor may change position when it is not visible, making its location difficult to follow. Many TUI s and GUI s give the user the option to turn off the mouse cursor when text is being typed. In many GUIs, the mouse cursor changes shape depending on the circumstances. For example:
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