Controlling the cursor’s look during web page design can have a big impact on the user experience. There are situations when you would want to completely hide the pointer, either to make the user interface clearer or to draw their attention to particular interactive features. In order to get the desired result, we’ll look at how to hide the cursor using JavaScript and some CSS magic in this blog post.
Hiding the Cursor with JavaScript and CSS
One of the simplest ways to hide the cursor is by using CSS in combination with JavaScript. Here’s how you can do it:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Hide Cursor Example</title>
<style>
.hide-cursor {
cursor: none;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div id="hideCursorArea" style="width: 100%; height: 100vh; background-color: lightgray;">
Move your cursor here to hide it!
</div>
<script>
const hideCursorArea = document.getElementById('hideCursorArea');
hideCursorArea.addEventListener('mouseover', () => {
hideCursorArea.classList.add('hide-cursor');
});
hideCursorArea.addEventListener('mouseout', () => {
hideCursorArea.classList.remove('hide-cursor');
});
</script>
</body>
</html>
Explanation of the Code
The code provided demonstrates how to hide and reveal the cursor when the user hovers over a specific area on a web page. Here’s a breakdown of what’s happening:
- HTML Structure:
- The HTML document is a basic structure with a
<div>element that covers the entire viewport (100vhheight) and has a light gray background. This<div>is where the cursor will be hidden when hovered over.
- The HTML document is a basic structure with a
- CSS:
- The CSS section defines a single class,
.hide-cursor, which sets thecursorproperty tonone. This effectively hides the cursor when this class is applied to an element.
- The CSS section defines a single class,
- JavaScript:
- The JavaScript code is responsible for adding and removing the
.hide-cursorclass to the<div>when the user interacts with it. - Selecting the Element: The
hideCursorAreaconstant is assigned the<div>element with theidofhideCursorAreausingdocument.getElementById(). - Event Listeners:
mouseover: This event listener is triggered when the cursor enters the<div>. When this happens, the.hide-cursorclass is added to the<div>, hiding the cursor.mouseout: This event listener is triggered when the cursor leaves the<div>. It removes the.hide-cursorclass, making the cursor visible again.
- The JavaScript code is responsible for adding and removing the
Results
The cursor will vanish when you move it over the highlighted region (hideCursorArea). It will return when you remove it from the vicinity. You may alter the visibility of the pointer in a variety of situations by using this straightforward yet powerful technique.
In summary
Using JavaScript and CSS to hide the cursor is a simple and fast technique to enhance user experience on your website. This approach offers a simple way to achieve either concentrating users’ attention on particular areas or coming up with a novel interaction. See how it can improve your web pages by giving it a try in your projects!