orbidia123456 on February 27th 2011
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Cursor Editor with Windows 7 Default Cursor problem

Hi, I was trying to use the Cursor Editor to modify some of the default animated cursors in Windows 7. It turns out that Windows 7 animated cursors actually have embedded in the file one animated cursor for high dpi at 48x48 pixels and one for lower dpi monitors at the standard 32x32.

There doesn't seem to be a single cursor editor in existance that can actually edit the 32x32 default animated cursors. I tried many others as well including Microangelo, Axialis, etc. All of them only extract the 48x48 pixel animated cursor.

I just now figured out how to extract the 32x32 animated cursor:
Example: Load up one of Windows 7 Animated Cursors:
C:\Windows\Cursors\aero_working_l.ani
(NOTE: That windows 7 cursor has two different problems which is why I wanted to edit that file!)

After loading, Cursor Editor shows the cursor as a 48x48 pixel animated cursor of 18 frames.

BUT, go to "Cursor Menu"/Change Size!
Put on "Auto Refresh" and set to show "Both".
Be sure to pick "32x32" size as the new size. Notice that they are different cursors!
If one picks "Resample" and chooses a custom size of anything other than 32x32 then it will do an actual resample of the 48x48 cursor.
But if one picks 32x32, and clicks okay, then the original 32x32 cursor is extracted properly! This is great and it seems to be the only program out there which can extract the smaller animated cursor from Windows 7 default cursors.

So basically, I am making a feature request for the RealWorld Cursor Editor to officially support different sizes for both animated an non-animated cursors. If there are two sizes of cursors in the cursor file, there should be a simple option showing the available sizes and a way to switch between them. Right now, it is not possible to re-save the cursor with both sizes still embedded in the same file. Please make it so the modified cursor can be re-saved properly with the correct "DPI" information in the cursor file.

Thanks.

Vlasta on February 27th 2011 0

Hi,

I was wondering when someone notices 😉.
You are right, some Windows 7 cursors have 2 sizes in them. The standard 32x32 version is used in 96 and 120 DPI modes. Windows 7 uses the 48x48 version when it is set to 144 DPI or more. This is still very rare.

The latest version of the cursor editor was released right before Win7, in the era of single-sized cursors, and I decided to hide from users the fact that a cursors actually may have more images in it. It confuses 99% of users.

So, the cursors with multiple sizes are supported internally, but the user interface hides that. I believe you can re-save the cursor, but you cannot easily access some parts of it and some operations may delete one of the images.

Until a new version is available there is a partial solution. Because the user interface is the most limiting factor and because it is configurable, there is a way to allow you to work with both of the image. You need a modified layout. So, if you want partial support for Win7 cursor, download and unzip this layout: rsrc/cursor-editor-layout-win7.zip. Then go to Application options and check the "Show menu commands for...." checkbox. Then Go to menu "Tools"->"Manage layouts". Delete the layout named "[0409]Cursor Editor...." and import the one from the downloaded file. Once you do it and open or create a cursor, you'll have an "Images" panel available in the right pane. It will allow you to add/delete images from a frame of a cursor.

orbidia123456 on February 27th 2011 0

Alright, it worked!

I did exactly what you said and I was able to finish this small project. Basically, I fixed the buggy Windows 7 Cursors. The 48x48 and 32x32 are still embedded in the same files. I had to erase each frame of the 48x48 and copy and paste my fixed images. This kept the 32x32 cursors in place so everything still works properly depending on the DPI setting in windows.

As far as I can tell, RealWorld Cursor Editor is the ONLY program which even supports editing the 32x32 Default Win 7 animated cursors. All the other programs load up the 48x48. But nobody really uses the 48x48 so its very difficult to get the 32x32 edited. This option should just be part of the program all the time but I'm happy I could enable it.

I think the "Images" panel in the right pane is a good way to select between the different sized cursors. It works great with static cursors. But it is difficult to use with animated cursors because hitting "32x32" only shifts to the 32x32 cursor for the current cursor image. I had to go through multiple times to switch each of the images to 32x32 to check them all and then when I wanted to check 48x48 I had to switch each one back again. Please, in the future, make it so hitting 32x32 or 48x48 or whatever size changes all of the animated cursors to display that size. When scrolling through the animation, it should either show ALL 32x32 or show ALL 48x48.

The rest of the program seems nice. Numbered animation frames would be better for referencing where things are. Right now, it is difficult to tell one frame from another by visual alone since the animations are subtle. Numbered frames would always give an easy reminder ... (ex. "I know Frame 12 has a subtle glow problem which I'll get to later.")

The only buggy thing I came across was the screen refresh didn't work properly on the editing window (the place you paint into the cursor). I would load up a cursor and the cursor wouldn't show at all until I clicked on another frame. It just kept showing the file dialog for example. If I simply resize the window, the screen is all garbled with resizing lines until I click on a different animation frame. I am using Win 7 with Aero enabled and I have "Show window contents while dragging" checked in System Properties/Advanced Tab/Performance Options. Maybe there is a conflict somewhere. Please have the program refresh the editing window properly.

I liked everything else in the program that I used!

Thanks again!

Vlasta on February 27th 2011 0

Judging from the repainting problem, I dare to guess you are using 64-bit edition of Win7? A limitation (or a bug?) of the Windows architecture effectively allows only half of the sub-window nesting depth on 64-bit systems and this causes the repainting problem (the repainting request does not reach the deeply nested windows). I have a workaround working, so this will be definitely fixed in the next version (there might even be a pre-release fix floating somewhere in the forum).

Yes, the layout with the Images panel will be in the next version. I am not sure about the selection between 32 and 48 being shared by all frames - there are ambiguities (what if one frame had only one of the pictures?). Hopefully I will find a suitable solution.

UPDATE: The new version of the cursor editor fixes all the above issues.