This tutorial will show you how to change the appearance of each mouse pointer image for your account in Windows 11.
The mouse pointer, which is sometimes referred to as the cursor, is a bitmap that specifies a focus point on the screen for user input with the mouse. The pointer will appear with a different image for each action or status by default.
Windows uses schemes for the appearance of your mouse pointer by default, but you can change the appearance of each pointer image to a custom image you want.
Windows uses .ani (animated cursor) and .cur (cursor) file types for mouse pointer images.
The default mouse pointer images included with Windows are located in the C:\Windows\Cursors folder, but you can use your own custom files.
Contents
- Option One: Customize Mouse Pointer Image in Settings
- Option Two: Customize Mouse Pointer Image in Control Panel
- Option Three: Customize Mouse Pointer Image in Registry Editor
This option is currently only available in the Canary and Beta Insider builds of Windows 11.
1 Open Settings (Win+I).
2 Click/tap on Accessibility on the left side, and click/tap on Mouse pointer and touch on the right side. (see screenshot below)
3 Do step 4 (change) or step 5 (reset to default) below for what you want.
4 Change Mouse Pointer Image to Customize
A) Click/tap on Customize pointer image to expand it open. (see screenshot below)
B) Click/tap on the Browse button for a pointer image you want to change.
You can hover the pointer on a pointer image to see what pointer action/status (ex: "Normal select") it is for.
C) Navigate to and select the .ani (animated cursor) and .cur (cursor) file you want to use for this pointer, and click/tap on Open. (see screenshot below)
5 Reset Mouse Pointer Image to Default
A) Click/tap on Customize pointer image to expand it open. (see screenshot below)
B) Click/tap on the Reset button for a custom pointer image you want to reset back to default.
You can hover the pointer on a pointer image to see what pointer action/status (ex: "Normal select") it is for.
1 Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the Mouse icon.
2 Click/tap on the Pointers tab. (see screenshot below)
3 Do step 4 (change) or step 5 (reset to default) below for what you want.
4. Change Mouse Pointer Image to Customize
A) Select a pointer (ex: "Normal Select") you want to change, and click/tap on Browse. (see screenshot below)
C) Navigate to and select the .ani (animated cursor) and .cur (cursor) file you want to use for this pointer, and click/tap on Open. (see screenshot below)
C) When finished changing pointers, go to step 6.
5. Reset Mouse Pointer Image to Default
A) Select a pointer (ex: "Normal Select") you want to reset to default, and click/tap on Use Default. (see screenshot below)
B) When finished resetting pointers to default, go to step 6.
6 When finished, click/tap on OK to apply and close Mouse Properties. (see screenshots below)
1 Open Registry Editor (regedit.exe).
2 Navigate to the key below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below step 3)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Cursors
3 In the right pane of the Cursors key, double click/tap on the expandable string value (REG_EXPAND_SZ) of the pointer you want to customize in the table below to modify it. (see screenshot below)
Pointer Image | Expandable String Value |
|---|---|
| Normal Select | Arrow |
| Help Select | Help |
| Working in Background | AppStarting |
| Busy | Wait |
| Pen | NWPen |
| Precision Select | Crosshair |
| Text Select | IBeam |
| Handwriting | NWPen |
| Unavailable | No |
| Vertical Resize | SizeNS |
| Horizontal Resize | SizeWE |
| Diagonal Resize 1 | SizeNWSE |
| Diagonal Resize 2 | SizeNESW |
| Move | SizeAll |
| Alternate Select | UpArrow |
| Link Select | Hand |
3 Type in the full path of the .ani or .cur file you want to use for the pointer, click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)
4 When finished changing pointer images, close Registry Editor.
5 Either sign out and sign in, or restart the computer to apply.
That's it,
Shawn Brink
Related Tutorials
- Allow or Prevent Themes to Change Mouse Pointers in Windows 11
- Save Custom Mouse Pointer Scheme in Windows 11
- Delete Saved Custom Mouse Pointer Scheme in Windows 11
- Change Mouse Pointer Scheme in Windows 11
- Change Mouse Pointer Style, Color, and Size in Windows 11
- Enable or Disable Mouse Pointer Shadow in Windows 11
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