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When the pen tool is selected, it happens very often that an interval after doing some inking, I cannot see where the cursor was/is, since it's just so tiny. This is difficult even if I shake the tablet pen. Is there a way to make the cursor more apparent?

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  • A partial solution is to reverse the background color of OneNote to black. Then pen cursor becomes more visible. And there may be a button on the stylus that when you press will give an indicator.
    – Maesumi
    Nov 17, 2021 at 14:52

7 Answers 7

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One partial solution is an accessibility setting which comes with Windows. If you enable it in Control Panel -> Mouse Properties -> Pointer Options -> Show location of pointer when I press the Ctrl key. Pressing Ctrl will animate a shrinking circle (an inverse of the ripple when you drop a rock in water) at the location of the cursor.

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Ran across PenAttention by Kenrick Mock in the same search results as this question:

Blog with description/screenshot: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/descapa/archive/2010/04/28/pen-attention-highlights-your-pen-cursor-for-giving-presentations.aspx?Redirected=true

Download page (includes source): http://math.uaa.alaska.edu/~afkjm/PenAttention/download.html

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    Please do not simply post a link. Post your answer here. If that URL ever changes your answer will become useless.
    – Mxx
    Jul 10, 2013 at 16:12
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    This is the best answer, though some might pass it up. PenAttention is a VERY useful software for this.
    – Klik
    Jan 6, 2016 at 10:29
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Quick and easy workaround that works on my machine is to press alt shift or control. Either of these brings up a little box to say that you pressed that key, and the box follows your cursor.

The other workaround is to press the upper of the two buttons on your pen (if you have them) and wiggle a bit. It'll select with a marquee thus showing you where the microdot is.

Now you can find the stupid thing. Still needs a proper solution #forgoodnesssakemicrosoft but it'll do for now.

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Had the same problem, first help was activating "Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key" and remapping one of the tablet's keys with CTRL - at least I didn't have to "draw a line or dot" anymore to find the cursor on my 4k Display (which would else be nearly impossible).

You can also (as said) activate "Display pointer trails" which helps, but was imho a bit disrupting.


The best solution I found was this third-party tool which is customizable in a great way. Easily explained, it gives the cursor a semitransparent background dot, which you set to larger and a color of your choice. Link (01.06.2018) (The Program with similar functionality for lower Win versions would be CursorAttention - same link)

Both programs blend in a rectangular or circular marker around the pointer. Size, color and transparancy can be adjusted, alternatively, you can also show the pen symbol or a mouse cursor. Even a self defined graphic can be used. A hotkey (default: wahlweise CTRL + F9 or CTRL + ALT + F9 ) toggles the helping marker on/off. With graphic tablets, one could possibly map this to a hardware switch - same goes for mouses with individual key mapping.


Sometimes, this software seems a bit too slow and seems to jump - mostly with quick movements, but it's okay imho, as it does at most irritate but not influence the actual line or handwriting. But there also is another alternative: the program "Spot on the Mouse".

It allows far reaching settings for a colorful and half transparent "corona" (not you, Microsoft) atound the cursor or if you want a window-filling hair cross. Furthermore, it has a few additionally features such as showing pressed CTRL or ALT keys or an embedded symbol with using the mouse wheel. The performance is a lot better, than with PenAttention and CursorAttention, there is no such trail lagging. On the other hand, this program is just free as a demo with annoying "buy me" windows and costs around 15 Euro. It is developed for use in presentations and there is no toggle hotkeys, you have to use the context command "Pause", which is a bit inconvenient.

Find this program here or here

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When using a tablet pen, the idea is that it would mimic the utility of a paper and pencil. The small dot that indicates the location of the pen cursor is there for the purpose of fine-tuning your accuracy. Because tablets can be recalibrated (or calibrated poorly) such that the location of the pen cursor doesn't correspond to the exact location of the pen tip, it can make writing difficult. This allows you to see where exactly you will be writing once you apply pressure.

However, the cursor will disappear when you lift the pen. This is on purpose, because if you are holding the stylus away from the tablet, you aren't writing, and so knowing where the cursor was last serves no purpose. Readability is important, and having an obstructive cursor can make reading the text you just read obnoxious.

Once you move the mouse, you can easily see the location of the pen cursor. Even if you draw with the pen, using the mouse you will (by default) be using the "select and type" tool, which appears as a form of the "I-beam" cursor. You can use the inking tool with the mouse by selecting it in the toolbar, which will cause you to retain the dot cursor when moving the mouse, but this is not necessary when using a digitizer pen/tablet.

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  • But I don't use a mouse at all! I navigate even with the tablet. The cursor is there all right, where I hover my pen over the tablet. It's just that with OneNote, it is so tiny that even if it actually displays on the screen it is still hard to see! Dec 17, 2012 at 0:02
  • Yes, though I still wonder why you would desire to see the cursor when you're using a digitizer pen? Just point and tap where you want to tap. When I lift the pen off, the cursor is as good as disappeared, to me. (I've used a pen with OneNote quite often). Dec 17, 2012 at 5:29
  • That's coz I'm not using my pen on a tablet pc. But on a desktop. Of course, once I start writing then ink appears and it's obvious where the cursor is. But then it's too late! I will then press ctrl-z and only then can I start writing in earnest :P Dec 17, 2012 at 15:45
  • Aha! Well, then, that makes a lot more sense! Dec 17, 2012 at 19:09
  • An issue is when OneNote is used during a presentation. When you want to point to something on laptop (while it is being projected on a screen for an audience) you see and know what you point to but your audience does not see it easily. That is why PenAttention is a lifesaver. Something like that would be a nice addition to OneNote future release. PenAttention is much smoother to use than changing mouse properties to a trail or using CTRL. Incorporating it into OneNote ensures that there would be no software conflict and it is updated as the case might be.
    – Maesumi
    Sep 26, 2018 at 13:51
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I find it helpful to switch on the pointer trails in controlpanel/mouse/options. this shows as a trail of dots when using a Wacom tablet in onenote. It makes it easier to see the cursor when using a pen.

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A stylus typically has a side button. You want to investigate the options it gives to see if it helps your case. When stylus is close to tablet and the side button is pressed it shows a circle around the dot cursor. This may help the person who is writing or drawing to temporarily locate the cursor. You can also activate the lasso with the button. When lasso is not completed into a circle it has no effect other than that it temporarily draws a line which will evaporate.

(The only issue is that the circle is rather faint and even though enough for the writer it is not enough for the viewer in case you are preparing a lecture and are recording the OneNote screen on white background. So if you know how to set the opacity and color of this alert circle let us know.)

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