Cursor Highlighter
Posted: 17 Jul 2020, 05:28
Last update: v. 2.2, July 27, 2020
(Previous update: v. 2.1, July 19, 2020)
Cursor Highlighter is a program that makes the mouse cursor easier to track. There are three modes: the basic function is to create a colored "halo" around the mouse cursor. It can also be set to instead have a user-defined icon follow the mouse cursor, or to act as a "cursor focus" where the screen is darkened except for a circle around the mouse cursor. The program can be useful to make the mouse cursor more obvious for example during online lectures, or when recording tutorial videos, or when people with vision disabilities need to use a computer. You can switch between the three modes by using the tray icon or hotkeys, or on the first tab of the Settings.
Here is a great video by Kevin Stratvert that highlights the program (see around the 7:55 mark)
Here is a short demo video I had previously prepared:
To use the program, you can just download the .ahk file from the following Google Drive link:
DOWNLOAD THE CURRENT VERSION: Version 2.2, uploaded July 27, 2020: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KntxXI_hhi69G0mQ4KV-6kx3ZiaKdbc1/view
The first time you run the script, it will ask you to create a .ini settings file that will contain all the settings for the program.
The program was designed to be highly customizable by the user. The settings are saved in the .ini file that has to be kept in the same folder as the .ahk script. Basically, almost everything (such as the size and color of the highlight, to the hotkeys used to switch between different functions, to the tray icon click behavior) can be customized. To change the program's settings, you can access the settings window by right-clicking on the program's tray icon.
Let me know if you have any comments, bug reports, or suggestions for improvements!
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Notes:
- The code for the main function to highlight the cursor is actually just a few lines. The great majority of the script's code is for the GUI to allow for the users to customize the program's settings. And because the script is designed to be used by people who don't have much familiarity with AutoHotkey, all the necessary functions and libraries have been pasted into the script (so there is no need to download or #Include any external libraries).
- I'd love to make the source code directly available here, but the source code has too many characters to be accepted here (because the icons and images were included in the script as very long hBITMAP codes using Image2Include.ahk). But let me know if you're not comfortable downloading the script from the Google Drive link above!
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All versions:
- Version 2.2, uploaded July 27, 2020: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KntxXI_hhi69G0mQ4KV-6kx3ZiaKdbc1
Changelog:
- The demo video above was created.
- Corrected a bug in the color selection code.
- Version 2.1, uploaded July 19, 2020: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YUCwbaqBTEfGBDfZWLTFdJXM4p7WoSO8/view?usp=sharing
Changelog:
- Added a verification for the presence of the .ini settings file in the script's folder. Thanks daywalker for the suggestion.
- On first use, a .ini file for the settings will be created. So no need to download the ini file anymore.
- Added tray menu option to switch between different cursor options.
- Version 2.0, uploaded July 17, 2020: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l-ZT8kNjzQM5-FzvJER85ewhdlRoEyS4/view?usp=sharing
- Many, many changes have been made since v. 1.0!
- The program now has better compatibility when using multiple monitors of different resolutions.
- There are now three modes to make the cursor more obvious (colored "halo", picture, and cursor "focus").
- The Settings window now includes extensive customization options for about everything in the program.
- The cursor highlight can now be set to show something different on left- and right-clicks.
- Hotkeys can be defined to switch between the modes and to show/hide the cursor highlight.
(Previous update: v. 2.1, July 19, 2020)
Cursor Highlighter is a program that makes the mouse cursor easier to track. There are three modes: the basic function is to create a colored "halo" around the mouse cursor. It can also be set to instead have a user-defined icon follow the mouse cursor, or to act as a "cursor focus" where the screen is darkened except for a circle around the mouse cursor. The program can be useful to make the mouse cursor more obvious for example during online lectures, or when recording tutorial videos, or when people with vision disabilities need to use a computer. You can switch between the three modes by using the tray icon or hotkeys, or on the first tab of the Settings.
Here is a great video by Kevin Stratvert that highlights the program (see around the 7:55 mark)
Here is a short demo video I had previously prepared:
To use the program, you can just download the .ahk file from the following Google Drive link:
DOWNLOAD THE CURRENT VERSION: Version 2.2, uploaded July 27, 2020: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KntxXI_hhi69G0mQ4KV-6kx3ZiaKdbc1/view
The first time you run the script, it will ask you to create a .ini settings file that will contain all the settings for the program.
The program was designed to be highly customizable by the user. The settings are saved in the .ini file that has to be kept in the same folder as the .ahk script. Basically, almost everything (such as the size and color of the highlight, to the hotkeys used to switch between different functions, to the tray icon click behavior) can be customized. To change the program's settings, you can access the settings window by right-clicking on the program's tray icon.
Let me know if you have any comments, bug reports, or suggestions for improvements!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
- The code for the main function to highlight the cursor is actually just a few lines. The great majority of the script's code is for the GUI to allow for the users to customize the program's settings. And because the script is designed to be used by people who don't have much familiarity with AutoHotkey, all the necessary functions and libraries have been pasted into the script (so there is no need to download or #Include any external libraries).
- I'd love to make the source code directly available here, but the source code has too many characters to be accepted here (because the icons and images were included in the script as very long hBITMAP codes using Image2Include.ahk). But let me know if you're not comfortable downloading the script from the Google Drive link above!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All versions:
- Version 2.2, uploaded July 27, 2020: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KntxXI_hhi69G0mQ4KV-6kx3ZiaKdbc1
Changelog:
- The demo video above was created.
- Corrected a bug in the color selection code.
- Version 2.1, uploaded July 19, 2020: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YUCwbaqBTEfGBDfZWLTFdJXM4p7WoSO8/view?usp=sharing
Changelog:
- Added a verification for the presence of the .ini settings file in the script's folder. Thanks daywalker for the suggestion.
- On first use, a .ini file for the settings will be created. So no need to download the ini file anymore.
- Added tray menu option to switch between different cursor options.
- Version 2.0, uploaded July 17, 2020: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l-ZT8kNjzQM5-FzvJER85ewhdlRoEyS4/view?usp=sharing
- Many, many changes have been made since v. 1.0!
- The program now has better compatibility when using multiple monitors of different resolutions.
- There are now three modes to make the cursor more obvious (colored "halo", picture, and cursor "focus").
- The Settings window now includes extensive customization options for about everything in the program.
- The cursor highlight can now be set to show something different on left- and right-clicks.
- Hotkeys can be defined to switch between the modes and to show/hide the cursor highlight.