How to Create Your Own Cursor

The one thing that rarely ever differs between Microsoft operating systems is the cursor. If you've been using various MS operating systems for many years, you've probably grown a little bit tired of the familiar white arrow. If that's the case, you may be looking for a way to quickly and easily create your own cursor to replace it.

Things You'll Need

• Photo editing software
• Animation program
• Image
• Windows operating system

Instructions

1. Find a photo that you would like to use for your cursor. This can be a photo you already have or any image you find on the Internet. When you find one, save it to the desktop of your computer.

2. Open any photo editing software and then open the image itself. This is usually done by clicking on "File" and then "Open. Then select the file you want to open. Depending on the size of the image and the speed of your computer, it may take a few minutes for it to open.

3. Resize the image to 15 by 15 pixels. In most photo editing software programs, this is done by going to "Image" and then "Resize." Input 15 for height and 15 for width; make sure it's set to pixels, not inches.

4. Save the image as a ".jpg" and use an name like cursor1.jpg or any other name you would like to use to describe it. If you want to create an animated cursor that changes depending on what the mouse is doing, you'll need to repeat Steps 2 and 3 to create more images.

5. Download and install an animation tool that will create cursors. When it is done downloading, open it.

6. Add all the images you created in Steps 2 and 3 to the animation tool. Hit the "Next" button and follow the steps indicated by the program to create the cursor.

7. Save the cursor as cursor1.ani, even if you only have one cursor image. Note that it must be saved with the ".ani" extension. Otherwise, it won't work in Windows.

8. Click the "Start" button at the bottom left of your screen. Select "Settings" and then "Control Panel." Double click on "Mouse" and then click on the tab labeled "Pointers."

9. Go to "Normal Select" and click "Browse." Select the file cursor1.ani from the desktop folder (if you saved it there) and then click "OK." Close the control panel and you should see your new cursor.

Tips & Warnings

• Always use high quality images when creating a cursor. If you use a poor quality image, the cursor will look equally poor. Look for images that look smooth, not rough-edged.

• Closely follow the directions outlined by the animation program you're using to ensure a cursor that works well with your operating system.

• Read reviews of the animation and photo editing programs that you're considering before downloading them. There are some that will not do what they say they will, so it's important to avoid them.