Limelight
What is a Click Animation?
A click animation is a short on-screen effect, like an expanding ring or ripple, that appears where you click so viewers can see mouse presses.
A click animation is a momentary graphic, often a circle, ripple, or burst, that plays at the cursor the instant a mouse button is pressed. Because a click otherwise leaves no visible trace, the animation tells an audience exactly when and where an interaction happened, which is useful in tutorials and demos.
A click animation differs from a static cursor highlight, which is always visible around the pointer, and from a mouse trail, which marks the path of movement rather than the moment of a press. Click animations are event-driven: they fire only when a button is actually clicked.
In presenting, streaming, and screen recording, click animations make interactions readable so viewers can follow each step. They are typically produced by recording tools or pointer utilities. Limelight focuses on related but distinct on-screen emphasis: a live cursor spotlight, keystroke display, drawing, region spotlight, and text overlay drawn on your macOS screen. Limelight does not record video and its current feature set centers on these overlays rather than per-click ripple effects.
Why Limelight
- ▸Fires only on a button press, marking the exact moment of a click
- ▸Common shapes include rings, ripples, and short bursts
- ▸Helps viewers follow interactions in tutorials and demos
- ▸Different from always-on cursor highlights and from movement trails
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FAQ
- Can click animations distinguish left and right clicks?
- Many tools color or shape the effect differently per button, so viewers can tell a left-click from a right-click or a drag.
- Does Limelight show click animations?
- Limelight emphasizes the cursor with a live spotlight and shows keystrokes, drawing, and text. Its focus is on-screen overlays rather than per-click ripple effects.