Flash Tutorials

Flash Custom Cursor

How to change Standard Cursor to a Custom Cursor

Flash Custom Cursor

How to change the Standard Cursor to a Custom Cursor in Flash

In Flash you can hide the standard cursor (Mouse pointer icon) and create custom cursors. The Mouse object in Flash has a hide method which can be used to hide the normal mouse pointer and then we can define a Movieclip as our custom cursor. In this tutorial you'll learn how to create and use Movieclips as Custom Cursors using simple actionscript.

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Follow the steps below:

Creating a Custom Cursor

  1. Create a Movieclip for the custom cursor, say a small circle and name the instance say, 'cust_cursor'. The instance name of a symbol is used to control it using Actionscript commands (Refer to Flash Photo Masking for this example).
  2. Select the Movieclip instance 'cust_cursor' on the stage and reduce the Alpha value to 40 and write the following Actionscript code for it as given below:
  3. onClipEvent(load)
    {
    Mouse.hide();
    this.startDrag();
    }


    Fig: Simple Custom Cursor in Flash

  4. The 'hide' method of the predefined object 'Mouse' is used to hide the standard cursor. The keyword 'this' is used to reference the Movieclip instance 'cust_cursor'.
  5. We use the 'startDrag' action of the Movieclip to use the movieclip as a custom cursor.
  6. The Custom Cursor Movieclip can also be Animated and used as a Mask as shown in the example below.
  7. Save your work and test the Movie (Ctrl + Enter). That's it you have learnt how to create a movieclip as a custom cursor in Flash.

Software Required

Compatible Versions of Flash for this Tutorial

Recommended Version: Adobe Flash Professional CS5Recommended Version: Adobe Flash CS4 Professional
Flash CS5 Professional | Flash CS4 Professional
Note: For uses of lower versions of Flash some visual interface images would differ.
Recommended Version: Adobe Flash CS5 Professional
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