--- title: "How to manage mouse pointer" description: Learn how to access, control, and change the mouse pointer in Windows Forms for .NET. ms.date: 10/26/2020 dev_langs: - "csharp" - "vb" helpviewer_keywords: - "pointers [Windows Forms], setting" - "mouse pointers" - "mouse cursors" - "mouse pointers [Windows Forms], setting" - "cursors [Windows Forms], setting" - "mouse [Windows Forms], cursors" --- # Manage mouse pointers (Windows Forms .NET) The mouse *pointer*, which is sometimes referred to as the cursor, is a bitmap that specifies a focus point on the screen for user input with the mouse. This topic provides an overview of the mouse pointer in Windows Forms and describes some of the ways to modify and control the mouse pointer. [!INCLUDE [desktop guide under construction](../../includes/desktop-guide-preview-note.md)] ## Accessing the mouse pointer The mouse pointer is represented by the class, and each has a property that specifies the pointer for that control. The class contains properties that describe the pointer, such as the and properties, and methods that can modify the appearance of the pointer, such as the , , and methods. The following example hides the cursor when the cursor is over a button: :::code language="csharp" source="snippets/how-to-manage-cursor-pointer/csharp/Form1.cs" id="ShowHideCursor"::: :::code language="vb" source="snippets/how-to-manage-cursor-pointer/vb/Form1.vb" id="ShowHideCursor"::: ## Controlling the mouse pointer Sometimes you may want to limit the area in which the mouse pointer can be used or change the position the mouse. You can get or set the current location of the mouse using the property of the . In addition, you can limit the area the mouse pointer can be used be setting the property. The clip area, by default, is the entire screen. The following example positions the mouse pointer between two buttons when they are clicked: :::code language="csharp" source="snippets/how-to-manage-cursor-pointer/csharp/Form1.cs" id="MoveCursor"::: :::code language="vb" source="snippets/how-to-manage-cursor-pointer/vb/Form1.vb" id="MoveCursor"::: ## Changing the mouse pointer Changing the mouse pointer is an important way of providing feedback to the user. For example, the mouse pointer can be modified in the handlers of the and events to tell the user that computations are occurring and to limit user interaction in the control. Sometimes, the mouse pointer will change because of system events, such as when your application is involved in a drag-and-drop operation. The primary way to change the mouse pointer is by setting the or property of a control to a new . For examples of changing the mouse pointer, see the code example in the class. In addition, the class exposes a set of objects for many different types of pointers, such as a pointer that resembles a hand. The following example changes the cursor of the mouse pointer for a button to a hand: :::code language="csharp" source="snippets/how-to-manage-cursor-pointer/csharp/Form1.cs" id="SetControlCursor"::: :::code language="vb" source="snippets/how-to-manage-cursor-pointer/vb/Form1.vb" id="SetControlCursor"::: To display the wait pointer, which resembles an hourglass, whenever the mouse pointer is on the control, use the property of the class. ## See also - [Overview of using the mouse (Windows Forms .NET)](overview.md) - [Using mouse events (Windows Forms .NET)](events.md) - [How to distinguish between clicks and double-clicks (Windows Forms .NET)](how-to-distinguish-between-clicks-and-double-clicks.md) - [How to simulate mouse events (Windows Forms .NET)](how-to-simulate-events.md) - -