How to change a particular cursor face on Windows 10

It’s common knowledge that you can change the cursor on Windows 10. Not only can you set a different size and color for the cursor, but you can also change how it looks with a theme. Themes normally change all states of the cursor i.e., the loading state, the pointer arrows, the scroll face, etc., however, you can change a particular cursor face on Windows 10 and leave the rest as they are. Here’s how.

Replace a cursor face

Find the cursor face that you want to use. It can be part of a theme and you can partially apply it, or it can be a stand alone image that you create. Unfortunately, creating a cursor isn’t that simple. Your best bet is to try an online app that allows you to draw one. A more complicated or good looking cursor will require some skill.

For this post, we’re going to use a cursor face from the Metro X1 Animated Cursor theme.

Open Control Panel and go to Hardware and Sound. Click Mouse, and you’ll get the mouse properties window. Go to the Pointer tab. You will see a list of all the different states the cursor goes through and each one will be accompanied by the cursor face that is used for that state. Select the cursor state, and click the browse button.

In the window that opens, select the cursor face that you want to use. The Metro X1 theme, when extracted, shows plainly every single cursor face that it has. You can pick the one you want to use, and click Apply.

If you ever want to change the cursor back to the way it was, it’s pretty simple. Visit the mouse properties again. Go to the Pointer tab, and select the cursor you want to restore. Once selected, click the ‘Use Default’ button and the cursor face will revert to the default one that was set by Windows 10.

When you change a particular cursor face, make sure you replace it with one that’s easy to recognize. If you can’t tell what the cursor is for i.e., whether it’s ready to type or if it’s indicating the system is busy in the background, then it’s of little use. The good thing is that it’s very easy to reset a cursor that you can’t recognize.

On that same note, if you have a cursor theme that you like but you aren’t happy with one or two of the cursor faces it has, you can use this same trick and swap out the confusing cursor face with one you like better.