Custom Computer Mouse Cursor

Do you ever get tired of your mouse cursor always looking the same? In this Instructable, you will learn how to make your own custom mouse cursor and set it up to work on your Windows 10 computer.

Supplies

All you need to do this is a Windows 10 computer and an internet connection, which you probably already have since you are reading this Instructable!

Step 1: Creating Your Custom Cursor

The first step is to create your custom mouse cursor. There are several ways to do this. This guide will show you two different methods to create your custom cursor.

Step 2: Method 1: Use an Online Cursor Editor

One method to creating a custom mouse cursor is to use an online cursor editor. In this example, I will be using https://www.cursor.cc/ to create a cursor, although there are other websites available. If you want to follow along, I recommend using https://www.cursor.cc/ When you first navigate to the website, it should look something like the picture above.

Step 3: Choosing Your Color

The next step is to choose what color you want your cursor to be. You can change the color during the editing process to use multiple colors if you want. To choose a color, change the slider on the right side of the screen to the color you want and then click on the colored box next to it to adjust the brightness of the color. If you want your cursor to be slightly transparent, use the transparency slider to adjust the transparency of your drawing color.

Step 4: Drawing the Cursor

The next step is to draw the cursor. Click on the pixels you want to color with your selected color. In this case, I drew a simple green arrow for my cursor. Remember, the tip of the cursor should be in the top left corner of the box.

While you are editing your cursor, the website will show you
a preview of what the cursor will look like below the editor in it’s actual size.

Step 5: Download the Cursor

The next step is to download the cursor. Click on the download button right under the preview area. Save the cursor with whatever name you choose somewhere on your computer where you will remember. It is recommended to create a folder called cursors and put it in your documents folder or somewhere else where it will not accidentally be deleted. You can then add future cursors to this folder.

Step 6: Method 2: Use Your Preferred Image Editor to Create an Image, and Then Convert It to a Cursor File

The first step for this method is to use your preferred image editor to create your cursor. If you already have an image you would like to use, skip this step. Remember that the cursor should somehow point to the top left corner of the image. If you don’t want a white square around your cursor, use an image editor that supports transparency and delete all the white area before creating your cursor. Once you have created your cursor, save it as a .png file to somewhere you will remember on your computer.

Step 7: Convert Your Image to a Cursor File

The next step is to convert your image to a cursor file. There are many different websites that convert images to cursor files. Let's use the same website as above, https://www.cursor.cc/ On the website, click on Import Image, Click on Browse, find the .png image file, select it, and then click upload. The cursor you created will appear in the image editor area. Click download underneath the preview area and save the cursor somewhere on the computer where you will remember and it won’t be deleted.

Step 8: Add the Cursor to Windows

Now you have your cursor, so the next step is to replace your default cursor with the one you created. Don’t worry, this is not permanent and is easy to undo. The first step is to open the mouse properties window. There are two ways to do this. The easiest way is to type mouse in your search bar, and click on Mouse Settings. This will open your settings to the mouse settings page. Click on Additional mouse options on the right side on the screen, or at the bottom if your window is narrower. If you want to do it a different way, you can open control panel, change view by to large icons, and click on mouse.

Step 9: Mouse Properties

However you got there, you should see the mouse properties window like in the above image. Click on the Pointers tab.

Step 10: The Pointers Tab

The pointers tab is where you can change your mouse cursor. To easily switch between mouse cursors, click the save as button under scheme and give your cursor scheme a name. Once you have that done, you can easily switch between the default scheme and your own custom scheme.

Notice the selection box in the lower half of the screen. The mouse cursor has several animations, and you can change all of them if you want. For the purposes of these instructions, we will only change the normal select, although the steps are the same for all of them if you decide to change the others. Click on Normal Select and make sure it is highlighted in blue. Then click browse.

This will open a file selection menu with a whole bunch of system cursors in it. We don’t want any of these though, so navigate to the cursor that you created and saved on your computer. Select the cursor, and then click apply on the Mouse Properties window.

Step 11: Finishing Up

At this point, if you get a message about the cursor name you selected already being in use, click yes. Your custom cursor should now replace the default cursor. To restore the default cursor at any time, change the scheme back to Windows Default (system scheme) and click on apply. If it is still giving you trouble, click Use Default to change everything on the scheme back to the default cursors and then click apply. You can change all the cursors in the scheme if you want and make your mouse cursor truly unique by repeating these steps with all the cursors in the customize box.