Text cursor

Text cursor

In most command-line interfaces or , the text cursor, also known as a caret, is an underscore (_), a reverse block (█), or a vertical bar (|), which may be flashing or steady, indicating where text will be placed when entered (the insertion point). In text mode displays, it was not possible to show a vertical bar between characters to show where the new text would be inserted, so an underscore or block cursor was used instead. In situations where a block was used, the block was usually created by inverting the pixels of the character using the Boolean mathexclusive or function. On and word processors of modern design on bitmapped displays, the vertical bar is typically used instead.