How to Change the Mouse Pointer in Excel

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Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program for Windows that offers tools for users to organize, chart and formulate data. One such useful tool, offered in current versions of Excel, is the macro. Macros allow the user to record a series of steps that can be run whenever a frequently repeated task must be performed. In Microsoft Excel 97 and 7.0 the Visual Basic editor contains a particular cursor property application that can be used in making a macro to change the appearance of the cursor between the default pointer, an I-beam, an arrow or an hourglass.

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Step 1

Open Microsoft Excel and wait for the application to load.

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Step 2

Select the "View" tab on the right side of the toolbar.

Step 3

Click "Macros" then select "View Macros" from the drop-down list.

Step 4

Type a name for the macro into the "Macro name" text box then click "Create". The Microsoft Visual Basic editor will open in a new window.

Step 5

Type "Application.Cursor = " before the text that reads "End Sub" and after the text string that contains the word "Sub" followed by the macro's name and a pair of parenthesis.

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Step 6

Type "xlWait" after the equals sign to tell the macro to change the pointer to an hourglass. Type "xlIBeam " after the equals sign to tell the macro to change the pointer to an I-Beam. Type "xlNorthwestArrow " after the equals sign to tell the macro to change the pointer to the northwest-arrow. Type "xlNormal" after the equals sign to tell the macro to change the pointer back to the default pointer.

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Step 7

Hold the "Alt" key and press "F11" to return to the Excel spreadsheet.

Step 8

Click "Macros" on the "View" toolbar then select "View Macros" from the drop-down list.

Step 9

Find and click on your macro from the list then hit "Run".

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