Microsoft adds a text cursor indicator to Windows 10

[Karlston]

Microsoft adds a text cursor indicator to Windows 10

Where is that cursor? Have you ever asked yourself that question or similar questions? All recent versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system support an option to highlight the cursor when you press the Ctrl-key on the keyboard, but that option needs to be activated before it is of any use.

 

Plenty of third-party accessibility tools exist for Windows, e.g. BigType to magnify text, Auto Hide Mouse Cursor to hide the cursor, or TouchFreeze to disable the touchpad on the laptop when you type using the keyboard.

 

Microsoft improved cursor visibility options in Windows 10 version 1903 by adding an option to the Settings application to change the pointer colour on the system. Classic options to change the size of the pointer and the thickness of it while typing remain available.

 

 

The latest Windows 10 Insider Build for the first feature update release of 2020, aka the big one, features a new accessibility option. Microsoft added a text cursor indicator option to the Settings application.

 

The option adds a visible indicator to the text cursor to improve its visibility. Here is how you configure the option:

1. You need to run the latest Windows 10 version 2020 Insider Build (at least). The feature was enabled in build 18999.
2. Use Windows-I to open the Settings application.
3. Go to Ease of Access > Text Cursor.
4. Toggle the "turn on text cursor indicator" option there to enable the feature (it should read on afterward).
   1. Pick a text colour for the cursor indicator. You may select one of the default colours or click on the "pick a custom colour" button to select a custom colour.
   2. Select a thickness for the indicator.
5. Changes are highlighted automatically on the Settings page. I recommend that you check them out in a text editor or similar application to find out if the selection works out for you.

Once you are done you will notice that Windows 10 will use the indicator to highlight the position of the cursor on the screen; the indicator is visible in many places including the Settings application, File Explorer, web browser text input fields, or text editors.

 

Note that it may not be displayed in some fields, e.g. it is not displayed when you type in the address bar of Chrome or Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based).

Closing Words

Microsoft plans to launch the text cursor indicator option in Windows 10 20H1, the next major feature update for Windows 10. All users will be able to enable the option in the Settings application.

 

I'd like to see an option to turn the feature on or off using a keyboard shortcut or an option to blacklist it in certain apps as it may be distracting.

 

 

Source: Microsoft adds a text cursor indicator to Windows 10 (gHacks - Martin Brinkmann)