Puck

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The word puck while being a description of a shape, is among input devices more often used to denote (the moving part of) a class of pointing devices. These devices allow movement of the puck within a restricted area to provide absolute pointing coordinates.

A puck for a graphics tablet is gliding over the tablet's surface. It can be used more or less similarly to a mouse. A puck for CAD often has a window with a crosshair for precise digitising of coordinates of points on a paper drawing under the puck.

Another type of "puck" is a smaller sliding knob that is captive to a device stationary on the desk. They could be described as sliding joysticks but allow larger movement than typical sliding joysticks and do not spring back to the centre. A small movement on the device often corresponds to a comparatively large movement on screen. Examples include the Turbo Puck and the Felix.

See also

  • Some knobs on certain Spaceball-type devices have also been called "pucks", because of their shape.
  • The Apple USB Mouse has been nicknamed the "Hockey Puck Mouse" because of its round shape.