mouse trails

operating system A feature (usually of Graphical UserInterfaces) which causes the mouse pointer to leave a

trail across the screen. This is done by keeping track of the

last eight or so (maybe configurable) pointer positions, and

only erasing the oldest. This means that at any time, there

may be up to eight pointers on the screen, but if the mouse is

still, they will all be in the same position, and so only one

will be visible. When the mouse moves, it appears to leave a

trail of pointers behind it, and this can dramatically

increase the visibility of the pointer when using LCD

screens. The older ones had such long persistence that a

single mouse pointer, when moving, tended to be completely

invisible, and on a cluttered screen, was very difficult to

find.

(1996-07-08)