About Cursors - Win32 Programmer's Reference

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About Cursors

Windows provides a set of standard cursors that are available for any application to use at any time. The Windows header files contain identifiers for the standard cursors the identifiers begin with the "IDC_" prefix.

Each standard cursor has a corresponding default image associated with it. The user or an application can replace the default image associated with any standard cursor at any time. An application replaces a default image by using the SetSystemCursor function.

An application can use the GetIconInfo function to retrieve the current image for a cursor, and can draw the cursor by using the DrawIconEx function. To draw the default image for a standard cursor, specify the DI_COMPAT flag in the call to DrawIconEx. If you do not specify the DI_COMPAT flag, DrawIconEx draws the standard cursor using the image that the user specified.

Custom cursors are designed for use in a specific application and can be any design the developer defines. The following illustration shows several custom cursors.

Cursors can be either monochrome or color, and either static or animated. The type of cursor used on a particular computer system depends on the system's display. Old displays such as VGA do not support color or animated cursors, but new displays (whose display drivers use the DIB engine) do support them.

Cursors and icons are similar and can be used interchangeably in many situations. The only difference between them is that an image specified as a cursor must be in the format that the display can support. For example, a cursor must be monochrome for a VGA display.

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