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Overview

Mouse Pointer Crosshairs displays customizable crosshair lines centered on your cursor, making it easier to align elements precisely. It also includes an accessibility-focused “Gliding Cursor” feature for hands-free cursor positioning.
This utility is especially useful for design work, pixel-perfect alignment, accessibility needs, and presentations where precise cursor placement is important.

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How to Activate

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Crosshairs Toggle

Press the activation shortcut to show or hide crosshairs:
  • Default shortcut: Win + Alt + P

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Gliding Cursor

Use the gliding cursor feature for hands-free cursor movement:
  • Default shortcut: Win + Alt + . (period)
1

Start Horizontal Glide

Press Win + Alt + . to begin fast horizontal scanning
2

Slow Horizontal

Press the shortcut again to slow down horizontal movement
3

Switch to Vertical

Press the shortcut a third time to switch to fast vertical scanning
4

Slow Vertical

Press the shortcut again to slow down vertical movement
5

Complete

Press the shortcut one final time to place the cursor and perform a click
Press Esc during gliding to cancel the operation without clicking.

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Configuration Options

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Activation Settings

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activation_shortcut
hotkey
default:"Win + Alt + P"
Keyboard shortcut to toggle crosshairs on and off
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gliding_cursor_activation_shortcut
hotkey
default:"Win + Alt + ."
Keyboard shortcut to activate the gliding cursor state machine
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auto_activate
boolean
default:"false"
Automatically enable crosshairs when PowerToys starts

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Appearance Settings

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crosshairs_color
color
default:"#FF0000"
Color of the crosshair lines (RGB format)
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crosshairs_border_color
color
default:"#FFFFFF"
Color of the border outline around crosshair lines (RGB format)
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crosshairs_opacity
number
default:"75"
Opacity percentage of the crosshairs (0-100)
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crosshairs_radius
number
default:"20"
Size of the center gap/radius in pixels (creates a circle in the middle)
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crosshairs_thickness
number
default:"5"
Thickness of the crosshair lines in pixels
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crosshairs_border_size
number
default:"1"
Thickness of the border outline in pixels

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Crosshairs Behavior

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crosshairs_auto_hide
boolean
default:"false"
Automatically hide crosshairs when the mouse stops moving
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crosshairs_is_fixed_length_enabled
boolean
default:"false"
Use fixed-length crosshairs instead of extending to screen edges
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crosshairs_fixed_length
number
default:"100"
Length of crosshair lines in pixels (when fixed length is enabled)
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crosshairs_orientation
enum
default:"Both"
Display orientation of crosshairs:
  • Both (0): Horizontal and vertical lines
  • Horizontal (1): Only horizontal line
  • Vertical (2): Only vertical line

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Gliding Cursor Speed Settings

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gliding_travel_speed
number
default:"30"
Fast speed for initial scanning phase (pixels per 200ms interval). Range: 5-60
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gliding_delay_speed
number
default:"5"
Slow speed for precise positioning phase (pixels per 200ms interval). Range: 5-60
The gliding cursor forces crosshairs to “Both” orientation during operation, regardless of your normal setting. Your preferred orientation is restored when gliding completes or is cancelled.

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Use Cases

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Design and Layout Work

Align UI elements, graphics, or design components with pixel-perfect precision. 
Scenario: Aligning two buttons in a design mockup
Action: Enable crosshairs with Win + Alt + P
Result: Horizontal and vertical lines help align elements visually

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Accessibility

The gliding cursor feature provides hands-free cursor positioning for users with motor impairments or those who prefer keyboard-only navigation.
Adjust gliding speeds based on your needs: higher travel speed for quickly covering large distances, lower delay speed for fine positioning.

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Presentations

Use crosshairs to draw attention to specific screen areas or to help audiences track cursor movement on large displays.

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Screen Measurement

Quickly measure distances or verify alignment across screen elements during development or testing.

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Photo Editing

Precisely position selections, guides, or editing tools when working with images.

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Keyboard Shortcuts Summary

ActionShortcut
Toggle CrosshairsWin + Alt + P (customizable)
Gliding CursorWin + Alt + . (customizable)
Cancel GlidingEsc

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Gliding Cursor State Machine

The gliding cursor operates in a 5-state sequence:
  1. State 0 (Idle): Press shortcut to start → moves to State 1
  2. State 1 (Fast Horizontal): Cursor moves quickly across screen horizontally → press shortcut → State 2
  3. State 2 (Slow Horizontal): Cursor moves slowly for precise horizontal positioning → press shortcut → State 3
  4. State 3 (Fast Vertical): Cursor moves quickly down the screen vertically → press shortcut → State 4
  5. State 4 (Slow Vertical): Cursor moves slowly for precise vertical positioning → press shortcut → completes with click
At any point during gliding, press Esc to cancel and return to idle without clicking.

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Technical Details

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Rendering Architecture

  • Crosshairs are rendered as an overlay using Windows composition APIs
  • Updates are tied to mouse movement events
  • Hardware-accelerated for smooth performance
  • Works across multiple monitors with DPI awareness

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Gliding Cursor Implementation

  • Timer-based movement: 10ms tick interval
  • Speed units: pixels per 200ms base window
  • Fractional accumulation for smooth sub-pixel movement
  • Low-level keyboard hook for Escape key detection
  • External control mode prevents normal mouse tracking during gliding

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Troubleshooting

  • Check opacity setting (must be > 0)
  • Verify crosshairs color contrasts with background
  • Ensure thickness is set to a visible value (try 5 or higher)
  • Disable auto-hide if enabled
  • Crosshairs follow the cursor position automatically
  • Check that mouse is on the expected monitor
  • Verify display arrangement in Windows settings
  • Adjust gliding_travel_speed (5-60) for initial scanning speed
  • Adjust gliding_delay_speed (5-60) for precise positioning speed
  • Default values: 30 for travel, 5 for delay
  • Ensure no other application is capturing Escape key
  • Check for conflicting keyboard hooks
  • Try completing the gliding sequence or restarting PowerToys

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Source Code Reference

The Mouse Pointer Crosshairs implementation can be found at:
  • Module interface: src/modules/MouseUtils/MousePointerCrosshairs/dllmain.cpp
  • Crosshairs implementation: src/modules/MouseUtils/MousePointerCrosshairs/InclusiveCrosshairs.cpp
  • Default crosshairs hotkey: Line 895 in dllmain.cpp (Win + Alt + P)
  • Default gliding hotkey: Line 903 in dllmain.cpp (Win + Alt + .)
  • Gliding state machine: Lines 459-537 in dllmain.cpp

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