A Cursor Project acts as a unified, high-capacity workspace container holding up to 20 individual cursor items. This enables you to paint, organize, and export a complete matching desktop cursor theme or web package side-by-side in a single local session.

Cursor Project Configurations

At the top of the left sidebar workspace is your project control panel:

  • Cursor Name: Input a custom name for the active cursor item. This name represents the item inside your card deck and is used automatically as the default filename when exporting individual files.
  • Workspace Autosaving: The editor automatically saves all pixel arrays, timeline frames, and timing layers to your secure local draft database when switching between different cursors in your project.

Panel visibility tip: The left sidebar automatically collapses when you start drawing on the canvas, giving you the full screen to work with. To bring it back, click the hamburger icon (menu) in the top-left corner of the editor at any time.

Workspace card deck and cursor sets

Workspace Card Deck & Actions

The left sidebar contains your catalog of cursors. Use these actions in the workspace toolbar to build out your custom set:

Add Cursor

Appends a brand new, blank, transparent cursor item to your project deck, allowing you to begin drawing a new cursor role from scratch.

Add Full Set (Templates)

Instantly instantiates all 15 classic Windows system cursor roles in your workspace card deck (including Normal, Help, Busy, Text, Precision, Resize pointers). Extremely convenient to rapidly paint complete system themes without creating roles manually.

Assign Cursor Role

Assigns a specific system role (e.g. Normal Select, Link Select, Busy) to the highlighted cursor. Assigning roles configures the click point defaults and matches file names during set downloads.

Delete Selected Cursor

Removes the active cursor and all of its frames, sizes, and layers from your workspace card deck. Projects must retain at least one cursor.

System Cursor Roles & Mapping

When building a full cursor set, configuring the Cursor Role maps your custom designs to the operating system's specific cursor pointers:

Role Name Classic File System Utilization & Behavior Default Hotspot
Normal Select arrow.cur The primary desktop pointer arrow. Used for selecting items. Top-Left Tip (0,0)
Help Select help.cur Arrow with a question mark. Used to trigger contextual help. Top-Left Tip (0,0)
Working in Background appstarting.ani Arrow with an animated spinner. Indicates background loading. Top-Left Tip (0,0)
Busy wait.ani Animated loading circle or hourglass. Indicates system processing. Absolute Center
Precision Select cross.cur A thin crosshair. Used for detailed drawings and alignment. Absolute Center
Text Select beam.cur An I-beam pointer. Appears over text editors and input fields. Center Vertical Axis
Handwriting pen.cur A calligraphy pen. Used for freehand handwriting/drawing. Bottom-Left Tip (0, height-1)
Unavailable no.cur Circle with a diagonal slash. Indicates blocked action. Absolute Center
Vertical Resize size4.cur Double-headed vertical arrow. Resizes windows vertically. Absolute Center
Horizontal Resize size3.cur Double-headed horizontal arrow. Resizes windows horizontally. Absolute Center
Diagonal Resize 1 size2.cur Double-headed NW-SE arrow. Resizes window corners diagonally. Absolute Center
Diagonal Resize 2 size1.cur Double-headed NE-SW arrow. Resizes window corners diagonally. Absolute Center
Move sizeall.cur Four-way arrow. Used to pan or drag windows and canvases. Absolute Center
Alternate Select up.cur A vertical up-pointing arrow. Alternative selections. Center Tip
Link Select hand.cur A pointing hand. Appears over clickable links and buttons. Index Finger Tip

Click Hotspot Calibration & Alignment

The Click Hotspot is the exact single pixel where the operating system registers click interactions. When you draw custom pointers, calibrating this hotspot is critical:

  • Role Defaults: When you assign a system role, the editor automatically snaps the hotspot to its corresponding standard coordinate. For example, assigning Normal Select snaps it to (0,0), while assigning Busy snaps it to the absolute center of the active canvas size.
  • Custom Alignment: If you draw a custom pointer shape (such as a custom angled hand or magic wand tip), you can override the hotspot position using the target icon in the right-side Hotspot panel. Click the precise pixel on the canvas where the click should register.
  • Why It Matters: If you leave the hotspot at (0,0) (top-left tip) for a center-aligned crosshair or hand pointer, users will have to align the top-left of their screen with links rather than the center crosshair, making mouse operations feel heavy, laggy, and visually broken.

Exporting a Complete ZIP Theme Set

Once your cursor set is complete, you do not need to download each cursor individually. Open the Export Panel and choose Download full set (.zip):

  • Format Determination: The packaging engine scans each cursor in your workspace. Cursors containing a single drawing frame are exported as standard static .cur files. Cursors with multiple animation frames are exported as animated .ani files.
  • Automated Zip Compiling: The system compiles all files, organizes them with proper filenames matching their roles, and packages them into a single, clean .zip archive.
  • install.inf Generator: The compiler automatically writes a standard Windows installation script (install.inf) matching your cursor name and roles, allowing users to install the entire theme in a single step.

Installing Theme Sets on Windows & Web

You can use your exported ZIP packages for system customization or website integration:

Windows Desktop Installation

  1. Extract your downloaded ZIP archive to a permanent directory (such as C:\Windows\Cursors).
  2. Right-click the extracted install.inf file and select Install. Click Yes on the security prompt.
  3. Open Windows settings and search for Mouse Settings. Click Additional Mouse Options, go to the Pointers tab, select your new scheme from the dropdown list, and click Apply.

Web CSS Implementation

To deploy your cursor theme set on a website, upload the static .cur or .png files and load them dynamically using standard CSS styles:

/* Set the primary desktop arrow cursor */
body {
  cursor: url('/cursors/arrow.cur'), default;
}

/* Set the clickable hand cursor for links and actions */
a, button, .clickable-element {
  cursor: url('/cursors/hand.cur'), pointer;
}

/* Set the text cursor inside input fields */
input, textarea {
  cursor: url('/cursors/beam.cur'), text;
}