A symbol on a display screen that indicates the active position, e.g. the position at which the next character to be entered will be displayed. A thin vertical bar is often used for this purpose. Other symbols, such as an arrow, pointing finger, or cross, are used in other contexts. The exact shape can be used to convey status information to the user. The cursor can be moved to a new position on the screen by means of arrow keys on the keyboard or a pointing device such as a mouse.