cursor
The cursor
CSS property sets the mouse cursor, if any, to show when the mouse pointer is over an element.
The cursor setting should inform users of the mouse operations that can be performed at the current location, including: text selection, activating help or context menus, copying content, resizing tables, and so on. You can specify either the type of cursor using a keyword, or load a specific icon to use (with optional fallback images and mandatory keyword as a final fallback).
Try it
Syntax
css
/* Keyword value */
cursor: auto;
cursor: pointer;
/* … */
cursor: zoom-out;
/* URL with mandatory keyword fallback */
cursor: url(hand.cur), pointer;
/* URL and coordinates, with mandatory keyword fallback */
cursor: url(cursor_1.png) 4 12, auto;
cursor: url(cursor_2.png) 2 2, pointer;
/* URLs and fallback URLs (some with coordinates), with mandatory keyword fallback */
cursor: url(cursor_1.svg) 4 5, url(cursor_2.svg), /* … ,*/ url(cursor_n.cur) 5 5,
progress;
/* Global values */
cursor: inherit;
cursor: initial;
cursor: revert;
cursor: revert-layer;
cursor: unset;
The cursor
property is specified as zero or more <url>
values, separated by commas, followed by a single mandatory keyword value.
Each <url>
should point to an image file.
The browser will try to load the first image specified, falling back to the next if it can't, and falling back to the keyword value if no images could be loaded (or if none were specified).
Each <url>
may be optionally followed by a pair of space-separated numbers, which set the <x>
and <y>
coordinates of the cursor's hotspot relative to the top-left corner of the image.
Values
<url>
Optional-
A
url()
or a comma separated listurl(), url(), …
, pointing to an image file. More than oneurl()
may be provided as fallbacks, in case some cursor image types are not supported. A non-URL fallback (one or more of the keyword values) must be at the end of the fallback list. <x>
,<y>
Optional-
Optional x- and y-coordinates indicating the cursor hotspot; the precise position within the cursor that is being pointed to.
The numbers are in units of image pixels. They are relative to the top left corner of the image, which corresponds to "
0 0
", and are clamped within the boundaries of the cursor image. If these values are not specified, they may be read from the file itself, and will otherwise default to the top-left corner of the image. keyword
-
A keyword value must be specified, indicating either the type of cursor to use, or the fallback cursor to use if all specified icons fail to load.
The available keywords are listed in the table below. Other than
none
, which means no cursor, there is an image showing how the cursors used to be rendered. You can hover your mouse over the table rows to see the effect of the different cursor keyword values on your browser today.Category Keyword Example Description General auto
The UA will determine the cursor to display based on the current context. E.g., equivalent to text
when hovering text.default
The platform-dependent default cursor. Typically an arrow. none
No cursor is rendered. Links & status context-menu
A context menu is available. help
Help information is available. pointer
The cursor is a pointer that indicates a link. Typically an image of a pointing hand. progress
The program is busy in the background, but the user can still interact with the interface (in contrast to wait
).wait
The program is busy, and the user can't interact with the interface (in contrast to progress
). Sometimes an image of an hourglass or a watch.Selection cell
The table cell or set of cells can be selected. crosshair
Cross cursor, often used to indicate selection in a bitmap. text
The text can be selected. Typically the shape of an I-beam. vertical-text
The vertical text can be selected. Typically the shape of a sideways I-beam. Drag & drop alias
An alias or shortcut is to be created. copy
Something is to be copied. move
Something is to be moved. no-drop
An item may not be dropped at the current location.
[Firefox bug 275173](https://bugzil.la/275173): On Windows and macOS,no-drop
is the same asnot-allowed
.not-allowed
The requested action will not be carried out. grab
Something can be grabbed (dragged to be moved). grabbing
Something is being grabbed (dragged to be moved). Resizing & scrolling all-scroll
Something can be scrolled in any direction (panned).
[Firefox bug 275174](https://bugzil.la/275174): On Windows,all-scroll
is the same asmove
.col-resize
The item/column can be resized horizontally. Often rendered as arrows pointing left and right with a vertical bar separating them. row-resize
The item/row can be resized vertically. Often rendered as arrows pointing up and down with a horizontal bar separating them. n-resize
Some edge is to be moved. For example, the se-resize
cursor is used when the movement starts from the south-east corner of the box.
In some environments, an equivalent bidirectional resize cursor is shown. For example,n-resize
ands-resize
are the same asns-resize
.e-resize
s-resize
w-resize
ne-resize
nw-resize
se-resize
sw-resize
ew-resize
Bidirectional resize cursor. ns-resize
nesw-resize
nwse-resize
Zooming zoom-in
Something can be zoomed (magnified) in or out.
zoom-out
Formal definition
Initial value | auto |
---|---|
Applies to | all elements |
Inherited | yes |
Computed value | as specified, but with url() values made absolute |
Animation type | discrete |
Formal syntax
cursor =
[ [ <url> | <url-set> ] [ <x> <y> ]? ]#? [ auto | default | none | context-menu | help | pointer | progress | wait | cell | crosshair | text | vertical-text | alias | copy | move | no-drop | not-allowed | grab | grabbing | e-resize | n-resize | ne-resize | nw-resize | s-resize | se-resize | sw-resize | w-resize | ew-resize | ns-resize | nesw-resize | nwse-resize | col-resize | row-resize | all-scroll | zoom-in | zoom-out ]
<url> =
url( <string> <url-modifier>* ) |
src( <string> <url-modifier>* )
Usage notes
Icon size limits
While the specification does not limit the cursor
image size, user agents commonly restrict them to avoid potential misuse.
For example, on Firefox and Chromium cursor images are restricted to 128x128 pixels by default, but it is recommended to limit the cursor image size to 32x32 pixels. Cursor changes using images that are larger than the user-agent maximum supported size will generally just be ignored.
Supported image file formats
User agents are required by the specification to support PNG files, SVG v1.1 files in secure static mode that contain a natural size, and any other non-animated image file formats that they support for images in other properties.
Desktop browsers also broadly support the .cur
file format.
The specification further indicates that user agents should also support SVG v1.1 files in secure animated mode that contain a natural size, along with any other animated images file formats they support for images in other properties. User agents may support both static and animated SVG images that do not contain a natural size.
iPadOS
iPadOS supports pointer devices like trackpads and mouses. By default, the iPad cursor is displayed as a circle, and the only supported value that will change an appearance of the pointer is text
.
Other notes
Cursor changes that intersect toolbar areas are commonly blocked to avoid spoofing.
Examples
Setting cursor types
css
.foo {
cursor: crosshair;
}
.bar {
cursor: zoom-in;
}
/* A fallback keyword value is required when using a URL */
.baz {
cursor: url("hyper.cur"), auto;
}
Specifications
Specification |
---|
CSS Basic User Interface Module Level 4 # cursor |
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser
See also
pointer-events
url()
function