Share on Facebook Tweet this Share The mouse cursor is one of the pillars of modern user interface design. Even if you’ve transitioned to a tablet or touchscreen device like, sometimes you just need that reliable old cursor, especially in an operating system that still skews heavily toward the conventional desktop (i.e., Windows). But that doesn’t mean you have to stick with the default option. Users looking for different cursor colors and size, whether for better visibility or simply based on cosmetic preference, can follow our simple guide on how to change your mouse cursor in Windows. Changing the cursor to a variety of built-in — which function as collections of cursors for normal operation, text selection, hyperlinks, etc. — is fairly easy, but users can also customize individual images or install themed packs.
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Changing the default cursor Step 1: Change mouse settings Click or press the Windows button, then type in “mouse.” Click or tap Change your mouse settings from the resulting list of options to open the primary mouse settings menu. This is also available from the primary Settings application. Then select Additional mouse options. In older versions of Windows, the Mouse or Touchpad settings shortcut is usually found within the Control Panel. Michael Crider/Digital Trends Step 2: Choose a scheme In the Mouse Properties window that appears, select the Pointers tab. The first option there is Scheme, and it’s all that most users will need. Click the drop-down menu and you’ll see roughly a dozen different cursor schemes.
These are collections of static and animated images that completely replace the default “arrow” cursor and its associated tools. Most of them are boring but functional, and they take on the regular Windows look. The variations come in white and black for the best contrast, and in a variety of sizes to suit different screen resolutions and those with poor eyesight.
In Windows, all executables that display an icon to the user, on the desktop, in the Start Menu, or in Windows Explorer, must carry the icon in ICO format. The CUR file format is an almost identical image file format for non-animated cursors in Microsoft Windows. How can the answer be improved?
Michael Crider/Digital Trends Step 3: Select and apply a scheme Click on any of the schemes to see a preview of the applicable cursors in the bottom half of the window. You can move back and forth between them to compare the color and size. The “inverted” schemes are especially useful for those who have a hard time seeing the standard white cursor. When you’ve found one that looks good to you, click Apply to implement the changes. Then return to the Mouse Properties menu for any additional changes in the future. The Enable pointer shadow option adds a cosmetic shadow to the cursor — it’s interesting, but not all that useful.
Customizing cursors If you’re looking to change one or more individual cursors, that’s easy to do as well. Step 1: Select a cursor In the Customize portion of the window, select the cursor you’d like to change. There are 15 different cursors that can apply to different situations in Windows 10, though most of the time the primary pointer, link pointer, text select, and window resizing cursors are all you need to worry about. To select a custom cursor for the highlighted individual item, click Browse.
That will open the default Cursors folder, “C:WindowsCursors,” where hundreds of different cursor options are available. Michael Crider/Digital Trends Step 2: Pick a function Click one that matches the function (not the scheme) of the current cursor, then click Open to apply it to the current scheme.
You can repeat this step as many times as it takes to get the desired result or click Use Default to return to the standard cursor for the scheme in question. Repeat the process with any other individual cursors you’d like to change, then click Apply to activate them.
Downloading cursor packs Customizing Windows interface elements has become less popular as of late, but it’s still an option for more advanced users. There are many programs that will install additional cursor schemes or individual cursors to the default menu, such as, and sites like the have dedicated sections for custom cursors. Once installed, these are selected in the process mentioned above. If you’ve found one or more individual cursors that you want to install manually, you’ll need to copy their image files directly to the Cursors folder.
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In Windows 7, 8, and 10, this is in the default Windows installation folder, usually located at “C:WindowsCursors.” The Browse function we previously outlined can actually go to any folder on your PC, but it’s usually best to keep all your cursor files in the default folder for easy access. When downloading individual cursor files or add-on programs, exercise caution as with any download — are increasingly serious problems and can’t be taken lightly. Do not download files or programs from questionable sources, before opening them.
By default, Windows 10 comes with no custom cursors bundled and uses the same cursors as Windows 8. Users who love customizing their OS might be bored to see the same set of cursors in all recent versions of Windows. To change cursors, you need to download them, extract the files and apply them manually with the Mouse Control Panel or using the Settings app. Here is a much easier alternative way.
RECOMMENDED: Some time ago, I released a freeware app, Cursor Commander, which can help you manage cursors in Windows 10. The main idea of the Cursor Commander app is that you can install and apply multiple new cursors with a single click. It uses a special file extension,.CursorPack. It is actually a ZIP archive which contains the set of cursors and a special text file with instructions for the app to apply them.
Here is how you can get beautiful cursors in Windows 10 using Cursor Commander. Download Cursor Commander from. You can also read the detailed description of the app. Unpack the file named Cursor Commander-1.0-Win8.exe. It works in Windows 10 without issues. Run the installer and follow the setup instructions. Now, pick a set of cursors you like from.
I will use the one named 'Aero Deep Blue', which goes well with the default theme in Windows 10:. Double click the CursorPack file you downloaded:It will be installed into Cursor Commander's themes. From there, you can apply it with one click:. You can switch between cursor themes easily. When you get bored with the current theme, you can pick another one and click the button ' Use these cursors'. It is much faster than applying them manually with the Mouse Control Panel.
You can launch the Cursor Commander app at any time from the Start menu: So, with Cursor Commander, you can install, apply and share new cursors quickly. It is more useful and faster than the default options of the Mouse Control panel. Cursor Commander is a freeware desktop app which works in Windows 10, Windows 7 and Windows 8.x. I have not tested it, but it should work fine in earlier versions of Windows too, like Windows Vista or XP with.NET 3.0 or.NET 4.x installed. You are here: » » Get beautiful cursors with one click in Windows 10.
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