Cursor Invitation

From DesignPatterns

Contents 1 Problem 2 Example 3 Usage 4 Solution 5 Rationale 6 Accessibility 7 Related 8 As Seen On 9 Source

Problem

Designer needs to cue the user that an object can be interacted with.

Example

Example of showing a hand cursor as an invitation for drag and drop on My Yahoo!

Usage

• The interaction will be an operation you perform on the object.
• The operation is not easily previewed.</li>
• It is not necessary to preview the operation.
• You want as lightweight of an invitation as possible.

Solution

• Change the cursor to indicate the operation. For example to indicate drag use the CSS cursor move (which normally shows as 4 arrows; but on the Macintosh as a hand.)
• Change the cursor when over the object with which you will interact.
• When the operation is initiated with a click or a drag.

Rationale

For more information, see the rationale for Invitation patterns.

Accessibility

See the general discussion about accessibility for Invitation patterns.

Related

• Invitation
• Drop Invitation
• Hover Invitation
• Tool Tip Invitation

As Seen On

• My Yahoo!
• flickr

Source

Yahoo! Pattern Library