Change the Mouse Cursor Image in Windows 11

Before You Start: Which Cursor Settings Do You Need?

Windows 11 has two places for cursor settings, and they do different jobs. Picking the right one saves time.

• Settings › Accessibility › Mouse pointer and touch changes the pointer style (White, Black, Inverted, or Custom color) and its size. It does not load new images. For size and color changes, see customizing pointer appearance and cursor thickness, which covers that page.
• Mouse Properties › Pointers changes the actual image for each pointer. This is the place to use a custom .cur or .ani file, and it is what the rest of this guide uses.

If you only want a bigger or higher-contrast arrow, the Accessibility page is faster. If you want a different design, continue below.

Change the Cursor Image in 🪟 Windows 11

These steps change the cursor image by opening Mouse Properties, then applying a built-in scheme (a saved set of pointer images) or your own file. You do not need administrator rights for this method, as long as the cursor file sits in a folder your account can read.

To change the cursor image:

1. Open Settings⚙️. Press Win+I, or right-click Start and choose Settings. The Settings⚙️ window opens.

   

2. Click Bluetooth🔷 & devices in the left menu. The list of connected devices appears.

   

3. Click Mouse. The page shows your primary button, pointer speed, and scrolling options.

   

4. Click Additional mouse settings under Related settings. A window titled Mouse Properties opens. As a shortcut, press Win+R, type main.cpl, and press Enter.

   

5. Click the Pointers tab. You see a Scheme drop-down and a Customize list showing each pointer, such as Normal Select, Busy, and Text Select.

   

6. Open the Scheme drop-down to use a built-in set. Choose an option such as Windows Black (system scheme) or Windows Inverted (system scheme). The Customize list updates with a preview of each pointer. Skip to the Apply step if you are happy with a built-in scheme.
7. Select a pointer in the Customize list to replace a single image. Start with Normal Select, the standard arrow. The preview box on the right shows the current image.
8. Click Browse. A file dialog opens, usually in C:\Windows\Cursors, and lists only .cur and .ani files.
9. Select your cursor file and click Open. The preview and the list icon change to the new image. If the file is missing from the list, see the troubleshooting section below.
10. Repeat the select, Browse, and Open steps for any other pointer you want to replace. Pointers you skip keep their current image.
11. Click Save As if you want to keep this set. Type a name in the box, such as My Cursors, and click OK. The set now appears in the Scheme drop-down.
12. Click Apply. Move the mouse over the desktop. The pointer changes right away.
13. Click OK to close Mouse Properties.

Which Pointer Should You Replace First?

You see two or three pointers constantly, so change those first. Normal Select is the arrow, Text Select is the I-beam over text boxes, and Busy is the circle that appears while an app loads.

Other items in the list appear less often. Link Select is the hand over links, Precision Select is the crosshair, and the resize entries show when you drag a window edge. Replacing all of them gives a consistent look, but a mixed set works fine.

Turn the Pointer Shadow On or Off

The Enable pointer shadow check box sits under the Customize list on the Pointers tab. It adds a soft shadow under the pointer. Some custom images already include their own shadow, and a second one can make the pointer look smudged. Clear the box and click Apply if that happens.

Install a Downloaded Cursor Pack

Cursor packs usually arrive as a ZIP file containing many .cur and .ani files, often with an .inf file (a setup file Windows reads to register the set). Installing from the .inf adds the whole pack to your Scheme list in one go, which beats browsing for 17 pointers by hand.

Installing a pack may need administrator approval. If Windows asks, approve the prompt with an administrator account.

1. Right-click the downloaded ZIP file and choose Extract All. Click Extract to unpack it into a new folder.
2. Open the extracted folder and find the file ending in .inf. If the pack has no .inf file, use the Browse method from the previous section instead.
3. Right-click the .inf file and choose Install. On Windows 11, choose Show more options first if you do not see Install. A short prompt may appear, then it closes.
4. Open Mouse Properties and click the Pointers tab, as in the earlier steps.
5. Open the Scheme drop-down and choose the new pack by name. The Customize list fills with the pack’s images.
6. Click Apply, then OK. The new pointers are active.

If the pack does not appear in the drop-down, the .inf file may not have installed. Run the .inf install again. Keep the .cur and .ani files in the same folder as the .inf file while it runs.

Make Your Own Cursor Image

Windows does not accept PNG, JPG, or ICO files as pointers. The Browse dialog lists only .cur and .ani, so you need to convert artwork first. A cursor editor or an online cursor converter can turn a PNG with a transparent background into a .cur file.

Two details matter when you convert:

• Hotspot. The hotspot is the single pixel Windows treats as the click point. Set it at the tip of the arrow. A hotspot in the wrong place makes clicks land away from where the pointer appears to be.
• Size. Keep the image small. A 32 x 32 pixel image is a common size for a standard pointer, and large images can look blurry or get cut off. Test the result at your usual screen size setting (set under Settings › System › Display › Scale) and adjust.

Use a transparent background so the pointer has no white box around it. Save the file in a permanent folder, such as one inside Documents, then load it with the Browse steps above.

Undo the Change and Restore the Default Cursor

You can reverse any cursor change in Mouse Properties. Nothing here deletes your custom files, so you can switch back later.

To restore the default pointers:

1. Open Mouse Properties. Press Win+R, type main.cpl, and press Enter.
2. Click the Pointers tab.
3. Open the Scheme drop-down and choose Windows Default (system scheme). The Customize list shows the standard images again.
4. Click Apply, then OK. The standard arrow returns.

To reset only one pointer, select it in the Customize list and click Use Default, then click Apply. To remove a scheme you saved, select it in the Scheme drop-down and click Delete. That removes the saved set only, not the image files.

Why Your Cursor Image Won’t Change or Keeps Resetting

Most problems come down to the file type, a theme setting, or an app that draws its own pointer. Check these in order.

The Browse Dialog Does Not Show Your File

The dialog lists only .cur and .ani files. If your file ends in .png, .jpg, or .ico, convert it to .cur first. If the file is a .cur but still missing, open the folder it is in and check that the name ends in .cur and not .cur.txt. File extensions are hidden by default, so choose View › Show › File name extensions in File Explorer to see them.

The Pointer Resets After You Change the Theme

A Windows theme can replace your pointers with its own set. Open Mouse Properties, go to the Pointers tab, and clear the Allow themes to change mouse pointers check box. Click Apply. After that, switching themes in Settings › Personalization › Themes leaves your cursor alone.

You can also reach the Pointers tab from Settings › Personalization › Themes by clicking Mouse cursor.

The Pointer Reverts to the Default Arrow Later

This usually means Windows can no longer find the file. It happens when you move, rename, or delete the .cur or .ani file after selecting it, or when the file lived on a removable drive that is now unplugged. Put the file back in its original location, or select it again with Browse from a permanent folder.

The Pointer Looks Wrong in One App or Game

Some games and full-screen apps draw their own pointer and ignore the Windows setting. Change the pointer inside that program’s options if it has one. The Windows setting still applies everywhere else.

The Pointer Has a Box Around It or Clicks Land in the Wrong Spot

A box means the image has a solid background instead of transparency. A click that lands off target means the hotspot sits in the wrong pixel. Both are fixed in the cursor editor, not in Windows, so reopen the source file, correct it, and export a new .cur.

Where Windows Keeps Your Choice

For reference, Windows stores your pointer choices in the registry (a settings database) under 🗝️HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Cursorscopy. The steps in this guide do not require you to open that key, and Mouse Properties is the safer way to make changes.

What to Do Next

If the new image is too small or hard to see, adjust size and color on the Accessibility page, as described in how to customize pointer appearance and cursor thickness. On a touchscreen, the touch cursor feedback bubbles have their own settings. If the pointer looks right but moves or scrolls awkwardly, see how to adjust mouse scroll settings in Windows 11. If you share one mouse across several computers, PowerToys Mouse Without Borders is the next tool to try.