Cursor Overlay
A visual overlay for cursors and selections.
The Cursor Overlay feature provides visual feedback for selections and cursor positions, particularly useful for maintaining context when the editor loses focus or during drag operations.
Features
- Maintains selection highlight when another element is focused
- Dynamic selection (e.g. during AI streaming)
- Shows cursor position during drag operations
- Customizable styling for cursors and selections
- Essential for external UI interactions (e.g. link toolbar, AI combobox)
Installation
npm install @udecode/plate-selection
Usage
import { CursorOverlayPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-selection/react';
import { CursorOverlay } from '@/components/plate-ui/cursor-overlay';
const plugins = [
// ...otherPlugins,
CursorOverlayPlugin.configure({
render: { afterEditable: () => <CursorOverlay /> },
}),
];
Plugins
CursorOverlayPlugin
Plugin that manages cursor and selection overlays.
Options
Object containing cursor states. Default: {}
API
editor.api.cursorOverlay.addCursor
Adds a cursor overlay with the specified key and state.
Parameters
Unique identifier for the cursor (e.g., 'blur', 'drag', 'custom').
The cursor state including selection and optional styling data.
editor.api.cursorOverlay.removeCursor
Removes a cursor overlay by its key.
Parameters
The key of the cursor to remove.
Hooks
useCursorOverlay
A hook that manages cursor and selection overlay states, providing real-time cursor positions and selection rectangles.
Parameters
Returns
Array of cursor states with their corresponding selection rectangles and styling data.
Function to manually trigger a recalculation of cursor positions.