Question

How can I change the cursor shape?

Answer

Any graphical component is capable of changing the mouse cursor. As the user moves the cursor over the component, the cursor will change. Setting a new cusor type is easy - every subclass of java.awt.Component has a setCursor method. Individual components, or even applets can specify their own cursor.

// Create an instance of java.awt.Cursor
Cursor c = new Cursor ( Cursor.WAIT_CURSOR );

// Create a frame to demonstrate use of setCursor method
Frame f = new Frame("Cursor demo");
f.setSize(100,100);

// Set cursor for the frame component
f.setCursor (c);

// Show frame
f.show();

There isn't a "global" cursor type, so this means that you can have different cursors for different components. But just remember - using cursors inappropriately will make it difficult for users, so don't put an hourglass wait component unless you actually want the user to wait! A full list of cursor types is available from the documentation for java.awt.Cursor.

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