Thanks for a very interesting post, Brad. After trying CursorFx many times, I've stuck with a black one...a bit larger than the default MS plain vanilla one. 

I've thought about AI cursors and what occurs to me is an interactive text cursor - for example, if you're writing about cursors, predictive text and/or links to articles about cursors might appear, which could be added to the text as sticky notes or if you're describing a cursor shape and color, and image of it might form which could be added to the text.

It could be optically directed and virtual, moved by eye movement and selecting, copying and pasting could be done with blinking and/or verbal commands. Eventually, I suppose it could be EEG directed (along with the computer).

One of the first things I do.

My default is one called "Great White" and is about 3 times the default.

Life is too short trying to find your mouse....

I have a 4K x 40" monitor and even the largest default Windows cursor was getting lost on the screen, so I purchased CursorFX 4 (early 2020) in order to get a larger cursor that wouldn't get lost. I really enjoyed having a variety of cursors available on WinCustomize. I changed my cursor quite often, as there were new cursors to choose from every week. Creating a new cursor for CursorFX 4 was one of the first projects I worked on for WinCustomize. I have been using fly by NIGHT 2.0 since I created it in April of 2021. I occasionally download new cursors from WinCustomize that look like fun and use them for a few days, but I always go back to my old standard. I like that it only changes colors and not shapes. It is less distracting for an old geezer like me.

If you haven't tried CursorFX yet, you're missing out. Download the Trial today and give it a whirl!

Once upon a time I made a 'cursor' which was 2 lines...1 vertical and 1 horizontal as a 'cross' that could pan over the screen like crosshairs.  Needless to say the 'cursor' had to be twice the size of the screen resolution in both axes, and was one massive drag on performance.... and that was probably when the screen res was 800x600 [XGA].

Systems these days are faster...but screen res is bigger...probably same drag.....  

Jafo

reply 4

Once upon a time I made a 'cursor' which was 2 lines...1 vertical and 1 horizontal as a 'cross' that could pan over the screen like crosshairs.  Needless to say the 'cursor' had to be twice the size of the screen resolution in both axes, and was one massive drag on performance.... and that was probably when the screen res was 800x600 [XGA].

Systems these days are faster...but screen res is bigger...probably same drag.....  

I use PowerToys "Mouse Pointer Crosshairs" quite frequently, which sounds like what you were trying to create.

I use different CursorFX themes from time to time but the one I use almost all the time and has been for twenty years now is Ghost by treetog (Pixtudio)

It wasn't a 'try'...I did do it...but simply dropped it due to its lag...

Found it.... made 2 months before Wincustomize was founded .... Jan, 2001 ...

JanOscar

reply 6

I use different CursorFX themes from time to time but the one I use almost all the time and has been for twenty years now is Ghost by treetog (Pixtudio)

Just downloaded and tried it out. Very nice indeed! I like the transparency.

Jafo

reply 2

One of the first things I do.

My default is one called "Great White" and is about 3 times the default.

Life is too short trying to find your mouse....

Well now that is a smart idea, never thought of that.

bdsams

reply 9

Quoting Jafo,

reply 2

One of the first things I do.

My default is one called "Great White" and is about 3 times the default.

Life is too short trying to find your mouse....

 

Well now that is a smart idea, never thought of that.

One good (though not brief) thing MS did was "Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key" with a large, animated circle around the cursor - a good thing on large desktops.

To enable the feature, go to the Mouse Properties setting under the Pointer Options tab...you can press the CTRL as many times as needed to find the little devil.

Shaking the mouse rapidly can also temporarily increase its size in W10 and W11.

According to the WinCustomize stats, more than 543 cursors were downloaded just yesterday, with well over a million all-time downloads. This shows how popular CursorFX is with the WC crowd.

I actually used to change them and then I stopped. That's because with some custom cursors the pointer hotspot is not located at the very edge/tip of the cursor and that makes precision drawing more difficult.

I have been using MAC OSX cursor for years https://www.wincustomize.com/explore/cursorfx/2392/

And now that you brought it up  seems I have Curosr Fx and CursorFx Plus on my system...

Most of the time I use Hardwired

It's by Xiandi, she was a great skinner who I miss. I use dark themes most of the time and the thing about the Hardwired cursor is that it has a red color in the center of it. You can easily change that color to match the color you have either in the Windowblind or wallpaper.

I always match my cursor to the WB I'm running.

I use various cursors.. And, about as often as not I'll find myself going back to a native installed one that's not in CFX format ..until I'm ready for a change and may end up back in CursorFX or not.  The ones I choose, regardless of platform all seem to have certain balance to the main pointer, the I-beam text cursor ..just cannot abide many which cover more than a sliver of my text area when I'm using editing mode of anything.. and then the link cursor.. It pretty much needs to be in proportion and usually I'll even swap one out for a hand with the pointing finger that either shifts a bit or taps on the link.

Then there are times I just want something crazy for a few hours, though usually not longer than maybe a day or two before I need something more traditional. But, then again, traditional may be the solid monochrome arrow (or variant) or a clear one with one type of outline or another giving it form and shape.. Often over the years it's been bronze, even copper-ish or burnished sometimes silver but not too shiny.

Lately I've gone between more traditional ones and the more bespoke type with angles and slight pulsations of color more along the feel of something in the cyberverse etc.  I do often look to see what sorts the artists here are coming up with as well as digging through the archives here and on ol' deviant art.

I'm happy that there is still creative spark arising in this arena to continue to give fresh flavor to the world of customization. I sit here on my hold-out PC running Win10 almost in defiance of losing more freedom to use and have the OS look like I want it to.

Lately my main frustrations have been wondering why we don't have something that combines windowblinds with the features it doesn't bring to the flattened, voided ui of MS's new design ..whatever.. I tried using Curtains only to find that my often-used programs went flat and lifeless so I had to toss it to return to wblinds again and the comfortable.  ugh

Which makes me thankful that CursorFX and even the native format still work in Windows. I can use any I want with fully animated and even special effects sprinkled in if I feel like being wild for a bit.  I've not been able to duplicate this freedom on any other OS. One more reason I've kept my operations planted in the windows platform.

Very happy that our Cursor freedoms have not changed.!

*Cheers.!

~Myr
.end.trans.

I love Windows but can't stand anything about its default GUI, which is why I jumped on Windowblinds and bought it in 1999 (version 0.80 - I still have the instructions and registration email!) and have owned it ever since, and I also got every GUI-changing app that came along after that (Xion, Rainlendar, Rainmeter, Winamp skins, Windows startup and boot skins (I wish you could still do that in Windows 10!!!), some great desktop widgets, etc. etc., you get the picture). Every time I built a new PC and installed Windows, I would be up all night re-doing everything about the GUI first thing. I am almost allergic to Windows' default cursors and CursorXP, then CursorFX, saved my sanity. I treasure the huge archive of cursors created by Wincustomize's talented artists that I have collected over the years. Whenever I change my desktop, I change the entire thing and I make additional icons specific to that desktop for folders or other shortcuts I need there which blend in with the wallpaper so that you can't tell they are separate icons. I have folders which contain all of the components for each desktop (Windowblinds, dream, cursor, skins for all apps, widgets, icons, etc.). Right now I am using AzDude's Vintage Oil Scape wallpaper and dream, RedneckDude's Hardwood Windowblind, Ace Matrix's Everwood icons along with a few additional ones I made that camouflage in with AzDude's dream, and TOMPCpl's Wooden Claw cursor. So there you have it - you MUST get CursorFX. 

So, RnD, what cursor do you use with your Hardwood WB?