How To Change Your Mouse Cursor Pointer in Windows 10?

Sometimes, we find it boring using the default mouse pointers provided by Microsoft. There are lots of different mouse pointer themes available in the internet, offering elegant appearance, animation and aesthetics that might suit our taste. The mouse cursor is one of the pillars of modern user interface design.

Users are looking for different cursor colors and sizes, whether for better visibility or simply based on cosmetic preference. Changing the cursor to a variety of built-in Windows 10 “schemes” — 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.

Follow these steps to change your mouse pointer in Windows 10:

Changing the Default Cursor

Step 1: Click on the search box located in the taskbar.

Step 2: Type “mouse.”

Step 3: Select Change Your Mouse Settings from the resulting list of options to open the primary mouse settings menu.

Step 4: Select Additional Mouse Options.

Browse for available cursor schemes

Next, you’ll be able to look through 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.

Step 1: 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.

Step 2: Click the Scheme drop-down menu and you’ll see roughly a dozen different cursor schemes.

Select and apply a scheme

Next, it’s time to make your pick. Here’s how to choose and apply a scheme

Step 1: Click on any of the schemes to see a preview of the applicable cursors. 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.

Step 2: When you’ve found one that looks good to you, click Apply.

Step 3: Click OK to implement the changes.

Step 4: Return to the Mouse Properties menu for any additional changes in the future.

Step 5: The Enable Pointer Shadow option adds a cosmetic shadow to the cursor — it’s interesting, but not all that useful.

Customizing cursors

You can also browse a full list of extra cursors for more choices if you really want to customize your options.

Navigate to the Cursors folder

First, navigate the Cursors folder. Here’s how.

Step 1: Navigate to the Mouse Properties window as we did earlier.

Step 2: Select the Pointers tab.

Step 3: To select a custom cursor for the highlighted individual icon, click Browse.

Step 4: That will open the default Cursors folder, where hundreds of different cursor options are available.

Michael Crider/Digital Trends

Select your cursors

Next, you’ll select your cursor. Here’s how.

Step 1: Click one that matches the function (not the scheme) of the current cursor.

Step 2: Click Open to apply it to the current scheme.

Step 3: You can repeat step 2 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. (Just be aware that “default” may not always mean the original cursor for that scheme, and it may be better to just hit Cancel instead if what you want is to return to the original cursor for a given scheme.)

Step 4: Repeat the process with any other individual cursors you’d like to change.

Step 5: Click Apply.

Step 6: Click OK to activate them.

Sources:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-change-your-mouse-cursor-pointer/
https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000880.htm

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