Badly visible crosshair & cursor

Hello,

Sometimes I have a hard time finding my crosshair or cursor when photoshopping them, especially with grays and skintones. Does anyone know if there is a way of enhancing the visibility ? Change size or colour perhaps ? For the record, i use Photoshop 8 CS on Windows XP Professional at 1280 x 1024. Lower resolution isn't really an option, my LCD only has a razorsharp image at that resolution.
Help very much appreciated.

jan

Go to the Preferences. There are options for different cursor displays. Also, the cursor changes to a crosshair when you have Caps Lock on.

dp

Pjotr Wedersteers wrote:

Hello,

Sometimes I have a hard time finding my crosshair or cursor when photoshopping them, especially with grays and skintones. Does anyone know if there is a way of enhancing the visibility ? Change size or colour perhaps ? For the record, i use Photoshop 8 CS on Windows XP Professional at 1280 x 1024. Lower resolution isn't really an option, my LCD only has a razorsharp image at that resolution.
Help very much appreciated.

jan

"D.Plank" wrote in message

Go to the Preferences. There are options for different cursor displays. Also, the cursor changes to a crosshair when you have Caps Lock on.

dp

Thanks for your reply, but under the cursor preferences you cannot specify cursor sizes and or colour, just the choice between crosshair and brush size or tool icon for the painting tools. I have searched some more and I don't think it's gonna be possible. At least I have found not a single statement to the contrary.

regards
Pjotr

Thanks for your reply, but under the cursor preferences you cannot specify cursor sizes and or colour, just the choice between crosshair and brush size or tool icon for the painting tools. I have searched some more and I

don't

think it's gonna be possible.

Correct.

If you were using a Mac, there is an optional plug-in on your CD that changes the cursor when it passes over areas that are near 50% gray, making it more visible. Under Windows, there's nothing you can do. Sorry...

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"Pjotr Wedersteers" posted:

Hello,

Sometimes I have a hard time finding my crosshair or cursor when photoshopping them, especially with grays and skintones. Does anyone know if there is a way of enhancing the visibility ?

I've been using a suggestion from this newsgroup: the space bar changes the cursor to an easy-to-see hand. Release the space bar and the cursor is back.
- Max

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"Mister Max" wrote in message

"Pjotr Wedersteers" posted:

Hello,

Sometimes I have a hard time finding my crosshair or cursor when photoshopping them, especially with grays and skintones. Does anyone know if there is a way of enhancing the visibility ?

I've been using a suggestion from this newsgroup: the space bar changes the cursor to an easy-to-see hand. Release the space bar and the cursor is back.
- Max

That's not a bad suggestion after all Max, ty. Still I'd welcome Adobe (are you listening guys?) to allow more customization or a more intelligent cursor behaviour ensuring it's always gonna contrast well with the surroundings.

The others who replied, thanks a lot for your time and help too! Pjotr

"Pjotr Wedersteers" wrote in message

Hello,

Sometimes I have a hard time finding my crosshair or cursor when photoshopping them, especially with grays and skintones. Does anyone know if there is a way of enhancing the visibility ? Change

size

or colour perhaps ? For the record, i use Photoshop 8 CS on Windows XP Professional at 1280 x 1024. Lower resolution isn't really an option, my

LCD

only has a razorsharp image at that resolution.
Help very much appreciated.

jan

I have however found some minor improvements:

In mouse settings in windows (control panel) I have selected Pointer Trails, and made it a short trail.
Also I have ticked the "show location of pointer when I hit Ctrl" option. Not perfect, but it does help me sorta.

Thought I'd mention it.
Pjotr

"Pjotr Wedersteers" wrote in message

"Mister Max" wrote in message

"Pjotr Wedersteers" posted:

Hello,

Sometimes I have a hard time finding my crosshair or cursor when photoshopping them, especially with grays and skintones. Does anyone know if there is a way of enhancing the visibility ?

I've been using a suggestion from this newsgroup: the space bar changes the cursor to an easy-to-see hand. Release the space bar and the cursor is back.
- Max

That's not a bad suggestion after all Max, ty. Still I'd welcome Adobe (are you listening guys?) to allow more customization or a more intelligent cursor behaviour ensuring it's always gonna contrast well with the surroundings.

The others who replied, thanks a lot for your time and help too!

This topic has been discussed for years. Search Google's Usenet archive: http://www.google.com/advanced_group_search?hl=en

According to these threads, the problem is due to a limitation in Windows not Photoshop. Unlike the Mac OS, Windows has no "addover" mode for application cursors. It does have an "xor" mode, but it's problematic for midtone grays, i.e. the opposite of 50% gray is... 50% gray.

Last we heard Chris Cox was trying to workaround the issue. (This was in May 2003). I guess he didn't find a suitable fix.

Rick