hyperlinks started in blocks of text and as such it wasn't obvious that you could click on them to open another page.The reason why the cursor changes shape when over a hyperlink probably has to do with the following: Screenshot:ĭo note that many of the places where the hand was used are obviously clickable.ĮDIT2: Do also note that they've even used a custom cursor, which to be honest I'd never do, especially for something trivial as a hand cursor that's so ubiquitous. Many design mistakes are caused by such personal decisions.Įdit: Recently I've taken notice of usage of the hand cursor on Photoshop (CS3 on XP), but probably only because I was using it more extensively. Problem is, I feel so fuzzy about the hand cursor on buttons that I'm blind to the possibility of it being inappropriate. Somehow, I find it personally pleasing to see this cursor when I hover over clickable items, maybe because it's consistent with how webpages and even many games do it.īut as developers, We have to think of the children user and sometimes do things not as we like them but as the user likes them. I really feel better when buttons, and other clickable items such as checkboxes and radio buttons use the hand cursor. However, most desktop applications seem to keep the defeault pointer arrow for buttons. We are used to see it in this context daily because of it's usage on hyperlinks and hence all web buttons. The pointer cursor signifies a link because links have special behaviour that’s worth signifying to users.I've always thought the hand cursor to be the ideal visual indicator for "you may click here" to the user. If you want to give users feedback on hover you can change the background colour for example.Ī well-designed button-that is one that looks like a button-doesn’t need a pointer cursor to help users realise it’s clickable. # In conclusionīuttons that have the point cursor indicate that the user is interacting with a link when they’re not. This is because links open web pages or other downloadable resources without changing data like buttons are likely to do.Īnd users are also able to right click (or tap and hold on touch devices) to reveal additional options like opening in new windows, copying the address to the clipboard, bookmarking the link and more. To help users understand that links are different from buttons and other interactive elements, they are given the pointer cursor. The cursor is a pointer that indicates a link. The content beneath the pointer is a URL link to a webpage, document, or other item. The hand pointer must mean “this target is a link” and nothing else. For example, command buttons already have a strong affordance, so they don’t need a hand pointer. To avoid confusion, it is imperative not to use the hand pointer for other purposes. While links may have other visual clues to indicate that they are links (such as underlines and special placement), displaying the hand pointer on hover is the definitive indication of a link. Text and graphics links use a hand because of their weak affordance. The reason links are given the pointer cursor is because they have weak perceived affordance. This is also why links are typically underlined and given the pointer cursor. This is why, for example, checkboxes are never round. This is important because not everyone uses a pointing device, like a mouse. The way users perceive an element’s behaviour is shaped by how something looks before interaction. License Agreement is a link and gets the pointer cursor.
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