Windows Vista is here, and regardless of whether you upgraded from XP, or just purchased a new PC with it installed, I’m sure you are ready to customize the way Vista looks. Now we can go in all sorts of directions in customizing Vista, but I wanted to cover some of the basics as that is enough for most people.
Let me also take this time to cover a few questions about customizing Vista that you might have.
Q.Will it use many resources or “slow” Vista down?
A. By using the tools I will show you, your system performance should not be affected at all.
Q.Will this somehow “hurt” my computer?
A. Not at all. The methods used here are not system hacks, and the software I will show here is fully tested on Vista.
Q.Is this free?
A. Some applications are free, and some require a purchase after the trial period runs out. The price of the applications are typically small and well worth the investment.
Changing the Vista Logon
The logon screen is basically the first thing you see when you start your computer. Windows Vista has a nice default logon screen, but why not personalize it? To do that, just go and grab yourself a copy of LogonStudio Vista and have at it. LogonStudio Vista (free) lets you easily change a create the Windows Vista logon to any number of downloadable logons already available. If you prefer to use an image of your own, it’s as simple as drag and drop to create your own.
J. Aroche is one of my favorite CursorFX skinners. He makes cursor themes with some truly amazing animations and effects. He recently put out another cursor that stays true to his style.
There have been some really superb cursor themes coming through the past week or so, and I wanted to take a moment to share some of my favorites. You can apply these cursors using CursorFX (Free, Plus version available).
I have been getting quite a few messages lately from people wanting to know how to change their Vista cursors. Many of them are still using CursorXP, and I guess maybe the CursorFX news just hasn’t reached everyone yet. No big deal though, lets go through the steps on getting some custom cursors on your Windows desktop.
What is CursorFX?
CursorFX is the successor to the highly popular CursorXP application. I think it’s safe to say CursorXP was the top choice when needing to apply custom created cursors to your desktop, and with millions of downloads from sites like Download.com, I think many would agree.
CursorXP was great, but it was showing some age and with Vista coming along, it was time to develop a suitable replacement. In comes CursorFX. CursorFX is not just an update to CursorXP, it’s a completely new application that works with both Windows Vista and XP.
It’s available in both a free version, and a Plus version for $19.95. The free version has a wide variety of features such as full anti-aliased cursors, 32-bit alpha blended, animations, theme editor, new user interface, and more. The Plus version adds to that with special effects, cursor colorization, cursor sizing, transparency, and much more.
Changing Your Cursor Theme
If you downloaded the free version, you just install from the file that was downloaded. If you purchased CursorFX Plus then you can also download through Stardock Central or Impulse. So once it’s installed, start the application and you will see the main configuration screen.
CursorFX Main
In the center of the window you see the list of currently installed cursor themes. CursorFX by default comes with several themes included, but I will also show you where to get more later in the article. You can simply browse the list of cursor themes by scrolling through the list, and when you find one you like, just double-click the selection or hit the Apply button. That will automatically change your cursor to the selected one.
CursorFX Preview
By clicking the magnifying glass icon on the right of the selection, it will bring up the full preview of all the included cursor states. It will even preview the animations so you can see exactly what the cursor looks like.
Getting More Themes
CursorFX includes several high quality cursors, but no need to limit yourself to those. There are hundreds available on WinCustomize.com, and remember that CursorFX cursors are compatible with CursorFX.
There are some really great cursors available in the CursorFX gallery, so be sure to browse through and see all the great works.
To go along with the CursorFX theme editor tutorial I recently wrote, I also wanted to do a screencast that actually shows some of the process that I describe in the tutorial. Both the screencast and article show how to create your own custom cursor using CursorFX.
The 2.0.008 update is now out. If you have CursorFX Plus you can update via Stardock Central. Otherwise you can download the free version at the link below.
Here’s what’s new in this update:
- Fix for Powerpoint issue - Fixes for slow/choppy cursor. - Fixes for process priority. - Fixes to solve crash on loading Control panel with some old cursors. - Improved Control panel load time. - Fix for CursorFX cursors disappearing on IconPackager apply. - Fixed compatibility with some games and applications. - Seamless support for CursorXP cursors.
I wrote a tutorial on how to create your own custom Windows cursors using the theme editor in CursorFX. CursorFX is a free (Plus available) applications that allows you to easily and safely change your Windows cursor to one of thousands available. Creating your own cursor theme is quite easy, and even creating animated cursors is simple once you have your content.
CursorFX is a free program that allows users to customize their mouse cursors in ways far beyond what Windows is capable of doing on its own. CursorFX is the replacement for CursorXP which only ran on Windows XP systems. CursorFX runs on both Windows Vista and XP, and updates the Windows mouse cursor engine to support fluid animations, alpha blending, effects, real-time shadowing, user-action mouse states, mouse cursor resizing on the fly, color changing, trails, and much more.
A gallery for CursorFX cursor themes is available on WinCustomize.com to download hundreds of free mouse cursors, trails, effects, and more. CursorFX is a free program. A plus version is available for $19.95 that adds more features.
![CFX_Main_Dialog[1]](http://www.draginol.com/images/CursorFXLaunchScreenshots_E4F7/CFX_Main_Dialog1.png)
Entries (RSS)