CursorSpot User Guide
CursorSpot adds a configurable, click-through marker to the native desktop pointer and keeps highlight, preset, jump, and tray controls close.
Getting Started
- Open CursorSpot and complete the one-minute tour.
- Turn on Cursor Marker. Move the pointer and confirm the overlay follows without blocking clicks.
- Choose Ring, Solid, or Crosshair and adjust size, color, line width, and opacity in the live preview.
- Run Highlight to test temporary emphasis.
- Review Settings > Triggers. Resolve any conflict, permission, or edition warning before relying on a global command.
Tip: Closing the settings window does not have to quit CursorSpot. With tray behavior enabled, the marker keeps running and the menu bar/system tray icon remains the quickest control.
Interface Overview
| Area | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Home | Marker power, engine status, live preview, current preset, Highlight, trigger status, and saved jump positions. |
| Menu bar / system tray | Toggle marker, run Highlight, switch presets, open the window, and quit. |
| Presets | Up to nine complete visual and behavior profiles, each with a theme color and optional remembered window geometry. |
| Jump slots | Up to nine saved pointer positions for the current display arrangement, plus display-center commands. |
| Settings and Help | Marker, highlight, jump, trigger, startup, visibility, import/export, diagnostics, and capability guidance. |
Marker, Effects & Highlight
Marker styles
- Ring: Keeps the native pointer visible inside an adjustable outline.
- Solid: Places a filled marker at the pointer; line width does not apply.
- Crosshair: Adds alignment lines through the pointer and supports adjustable span.
Effects
Glow adds a halo, Blink pulses toward white, Trail shows recent motion, Idle Fade reduces visual weight while the pointer rests, and coordinates can show the current position. The preview offers several backgrounds for contrast checks.
Highlight
Highlight temporarily changes color and scale, then returns to the marker. Choose a timed ending or a held-key behavior where supported, configure transitions and safety limits, and optionally enable mouse-shake highlighting.
Platform capability: Modifier-only hold and double-press triggers require system-level key observation. They may require Accessibility permission and are unavailable in the sandboxed Mac App Store edition. Windows and the separately distributed Full macOS edition can expose different capabilities.
Presets & Jump Positions
Presets
Save up to nine complete presets and reorder them. Their order determines the numbered preset shortcuts. Use different presets for everyday work, screen sharing, recording, accessibility, or precise layout.
Jump slots
- Move the pointer to the position you want to remember.
- Hold the slot shortcut for about half a second to save.
- Tap the same shortcut later to move the pointer back.
Saved positions belong to a display-configuration fingerprint. When a display moves, the point follows its display; when the display disappears, the slot pauses instead of sending the pointer somewhere unsafe.
Lost pointer: Use the current-display or primary-display center command after reconnecting monitors. Enable “Highlight after jumping” to make the landing point obvious.
Tray, Startup & Recovery
- Enable Launch at login and Start hidden for a background-first workflow.
- Keep running when the window closes so the tray remains available.
- Choose whether window geometry is shared or remembered per preset.
- Use Keep window on top only when you need the controls above other windows.
- If the native overlay engine stops, use Retry. Rebuilding the overlay does not delete presets or jump slots.
Exclusive full-screen games, secure password fields, and some remote sessions can block overlays or cursor movement. CursorSpot verifies the outcome and reports a failed jump when possible.
Settings
| Tab | Main controls |
|---|---|
| General | Theme, tone, startup, tray behavior, window geometry, Always on Top, and startup preset. |
| Marker | Shape, theme or custom color, size, line width, opacity, glow, blink, trail, idle fade, and coordinates. |
| Highlight | Color, scale, transition, blink, duration/hold ending, safety limit, and mouse-shake highlighting. |
| Jump | Landing highlight, hold-to-save, center targets, failure notices, and nine display-aware slots. |
| Triggers | Record, customize, disable, test, reset, and resolve global shortcut status. |
| Presets | Create, rename, reorder, duplicate, import, export, and delete up to nine presets. |
| Advanced | Tracking, cursor-hidden behavior, capture inclusion where supported, fine tuning, reduce motion, diagnostics, full settings import/export, and reset. |
Trial, Free, and Pro use the same marker and control feature set. Pro removes periodic desktop upgrade reminders.
Keyboard Shortcuts
The defaults use Cmd on macOS and Alt on Windows. Every global trigger can be reassigned, given a supported trigger style, or turned off in Settings > Triggers.
| Default | Action | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hold Control 1.0s | Toggle Cursor Marker | Permission/edition dependent on macOS |
| Double-press Control | Highlight Cursor | Permission/edition dependent on macOS |
| Ctrl + Cmd/Alt + F7 | Show Window | Global keybind |
| Ctrl + Cmd/Alt + ←/→ | Previous / next preset | Cycles the saved preset order |
| Ctrl + Cmd/Alt + 1–9 | Select preset 1–9 | Only existing presets are available |
| Ctrl + Cmd/Alt + Shift + 1–9 | Tap to jump; hold to save the slot | Uses the current display arrangement |
| Ctrl + Cmd/Alt + Shift + 0 | Jump to current display center | Useful when the pointer is lost |
| Ctrl + Cmd/Alt + Shift + H | Jump to primary display center | Useful after monitor changes |
| Esc | Close Settings or Help | Applies when the app window has focus |
Tips & Tricks
Use a high-contrast ring for presentations, a subtle idle-fading preset for daily work, and crosshair for layout or spreadsheet alignment.
Turn on Lock marker state before a presentation so an accidental toggle cannot hide it; Highlight and Jump can remain available.
Export an important preset before experimenting, or export all settings before moving to another computer.
If macOS enlarges its own pointer when you shake, tune or disable one shake behavior to avoid competing effects.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| The marker is not visible | Check the Home switch, preset opacity, engine status, and “Hide while the system hides the cursor.” Retry a recoverable engine error. |
| A shortcut does nothing | Open Settings > Triggers. Look for “In use by another app,” permission required, unsupported edition, or a disabled binding. |
| A jump is refused or lands elsewhere | Leave exclusive full-screen or secure input, review remote-session restrictions, reconnect the expected display, and try a center command. |
| The overlay appears in a recording | Review Show in screen recordings in Advanced. Capture exclusion is not available on every platform or capture path. |
| An imported file is rejected | Choose a CursorSpot settings/preset JSON file or a compatible CursorSpot 1.0.20 settings file. Read the converted, skipped, and unknown-field report. |
| CursorSpot closes instead of staying active | Enable Keep running when the window closes, then quit explicitly from the menu bar/system tray when you want to stop. |
Privacy
- The overlay is click-through and does not read screen contents.
- No keystrokes are stored; only configured trigger definitions are saved.
- The only pointer positions saved are jump slots you explicitly create.
- Settings, diagnostics, and session logs remain on the computer unless you export and share them.
- No analytics, cloud account, advertising, or automatic upload is included.
Use responsibly: CursorSpot improves pointer visibility but does not bypass secure desktop restrictions, application security boundaries, or operating-system permissions.