Collaborator cursors

The pointers of other people who are in the same document at the same time, usually marked with a color and a name.

Also called: cursors, collaborator cursors, multiplayer cursors, live cursors, other people's cursors, someone else's cursor, arrow with a name, who's on the board, collaboration, multiplayer, presence, real-time collaboration

What it is for

They create a sense of presence in collaboration tools. You can follow what teammates are doing, point at things without words, and coordinate shared work.

Where you see it

• Figma — the cursors of designers editing a file at the same time
• Miro, FigJam — workshop participants’ cursors on a shared board
• Google Workspace — presence markers in text documents

What it is called in code

• multiplayer cursors
• presence
• WebSocket

See also

• Infinite canvas — The working area of a whiteboard, with no edges. You can move it in any direction, zoom in and zoom out.
• Sticky note — A digital version of a paper sticky note, used to write down a short piece of text.
• Avatar — A small picture that stands for a person: a photo, their initials or a generic user icon.