Using Custom Cursor WinForms

Question

Is there a way to use a custom cursor in winforms?

There seems to be no option. But when I try to manually add a cursor as a resource, then call it from code, it says that it cannot convert from type byte[] to Cursor.

Answer 1

I've used the LoadCursorFromFile() method from User32.dll. There are plenty of samples for this on the web.

OR

The ctor for the Cursor type also has a IO.Stream overload. Load your byte[] into a MemoryStream and feed that to the new Cursor.

Answer 2

From the MSDN documentation on the Cursor class (with minor corrections):

// The following generates a cursor from an embedded resource.
// To add a custom cursor, create or use an existing 16x16 bitmap
//        1. Add a new cursor file to your project: 
//                File->Add New Item->Local Project Items->Cursor File
//        2. Select 16x16 image type:
//                Image->Current Icon Image Types->16x16
// --- To make the custom cursor an embedded resource  ---
// In Visual Studio:
//        1. Select the cursor file in the Solution Explorer
//        2. Choose View->Properties.
//        3. In the properties window switch "Build Action" to "Embedded"
// On the command line:
//        Add the following flag:
//            /res:CursorFileName.Cur,Namespace.CursorFileName.Cur
//        
//        Where "Namespace" is the namespace in which you want to use
//        the cursor and   "CursorFileName.Cur" is the cursor filename.
// The following line uses the namespace from the passed-in type
// and looks for CustomCursor.MyCursor.Cur in the assemblies manifest.
// NOTE: The cursor name is case sensitive.

this.Cursor = new Cursor(GetType(), "MyCursor.Cur");