Settings Reference

Complete reference for all MouseCross settings and their default values.

Accessing Settings

Windows

  1. Right-click the MouseCross icon in the system tray
  2. Select "Settings..." (or press Alt+S)
  3. The Settings dialog will appear

Settings dialog

macOS

  1. Click the MouseCross icon in the menu bar
  2. Select "Settings..." (or press Cmd+,)
  3. The Settings window will appear

Settings window (macOS)

Appearance Settings

These settings control how the crosshair looks.

Line Width

Controls the thickness of the crosshair lines.

  • Setting: Line Width slider
  • Default: 11
  • Range: 1-20 pixels
  • Keyboard shortcut: Alt+L (Windows)
  • Description: Thicker lines are more visible but may obstruct content. Start with the default and adjust based on your needs.

Opacity

Controls the transparency of the crosshair.

  • Setting: Opacity slider
  • Default: 80%
  • Range: 0-100%
  • Keyboard shortcut: Alt+O (Windows)
  • Description: 100% is fully opaque, 0% is invisible. Lower values allow you to see through the crosshair more easily.

Cursor Offset

Controls the distance between the mouse cursor and the direction arrows.

  • Setting: Cursor Offset slider
  • Default: 49 pixels
  • Range: 10-200 pixels
  • Keyboard shortcut: Alt+C (Windows)
  • Description: Smaller values keep indicators close to the cursor. Larger values reduce obstruction but require more eye movement.

Thickness Growth

Controls how much the line thickness increases toward the center.

  • Setting: Thickness Growth slider
  • Default: 3.0
  • Range: 1.0-10.0
  • Keyboard shortcut: Alt+T (Windows)
  • Description: Higher values create more pronounced tapering toward the cursor. Currently affects rendering logic.

Arrow Spacing

Controls the spacing between direction arrows.

  • Setting: Arrow Spacing slider
  • Default: 5.0
  • Range: 0-20.0
  • Keyboard shortcut: Alt+I (Windows)
  • Description: Affects the visual separation between arrow indicators.

Color Preset

Choose one of three color presets for the crosshair.

  • Setting: Color Preset (radio buttons)
  • Options: White / Yellow / Red
  • Default: White

Show Direction Arrows

Toggle the visibility of direction arrows.

  • Setting: "Show Direction Arrows" checkbox
  • Default: Enabled (checked)
  • Keyboard shortcut: Alt+S (Windows)
  • Description: When unchecked, hides the direction arrows but keeps the crosshair tracking active.

Theme

Controls the crosshair color theme.

  • Setting: Theme (combobox)
  • Options: Light / Dark / Follow System
  • Default: Follow System
  • Keyboard shortcut (Windows): Ctrl+Alt+X
  • Description: Light = white crosshair, Dark = black crosshair, Follow System = adapts automatically.

Settings in dark mode (Windows) Settings dialog in dark mode

Behavior Settings

These settings control how MouseCross behaves.

Auto-Start

Launch MouseCross automatically when your computer starts.

  • Setting: "Start automatically with Windows/macOS" checkbox
  • Default: Enabled (checked)
  • Keyboard shortcut: Alt+A (Windows)
  • Description:
    • Windows: Adds entry to Registry Run key
    • macOS: Adds to Login Items

Activate on Startup

Show the crosshair immediately when MouseCross launches.

  • Setting: "Activate crosshair on startup" checkbox
  • Default: Enabled (checked)
  • Keyboard shortcut: Alt+V (Windows)
  • Description: When disabled, MouseCross runs in the background. Use the hotkey to show the crosshair when needed.

Show Welcome Dialog

Display the welcome message on first launch.

  • Setting: Internal setting
  • Default: Enabled
  • Description: After the first launch, this is automatically disabled. You can view the welcome dialog again from the About dialog.

Hotkey Settings

Configure the global keyboard shortcut for toggling the crosshair.

Toggle Hotkey

The keyboard combination to show/hide the crosshair.

  • Setting: Hotkey control
  • Default: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C
  • Keyboard shortcut: Alt+H (Windows) to set
  • Description:
    • Click the hotkey field and press your desired key combination
    • Must include at least one modifier (Ctrl, Alt, Shift)
    • Works globally - no need to focus MouseCross window

Recommended hotkeys:

  • Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C (default)
  • Ctrl+Alt+C
  • Ctrl+Shift+M
  • F12

Dialog Buttons

Apply

Apply changes without closing the Settings dialog.

  • Keyboard shortcut: Alt+A (Windows)
  • Description: Changes take effect immediately. Dialog remains open for further adjustments.

OK

Apply changes and close the Settings dialog.

  • Keyboard shortcut: Enter (Windows)
  • Description: Saves settings and closes the dialog.

Cancel

Discard changes and close the Settings dialog.

  • Keyboard shortcut: Esc (Windows)
  • Description: Reverts to previous settings without saving changes.

Restore Defaults

Reset all settings to their default values.

  • Keyboard shortcut: Alt+R (Windows)
  • Description: Immediately resets all settings to factory defaults. Changes are applied when you click OK or Apply.

Settings Storage

Windows

Settings are stored in the Windows Registry:

Location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MouseCross

Keys:

  • crosshairTheme (DWORD) - Theme (0=Light, 1=Dark, 2=Follow System)
  • crosshairColorPreset (DWORD) - Color preset (0=White, 1=Yellow, 2=Red)
  • CrosshairThickness (DWORD) - Line width
  • CrosshairOpacity (DWORD) - Opacity (0-255)
  • CrosshairSize (DWORD) - Cursor offset
  • CrosshairShape (DWORD) - Shape enum value
  • AutoStart (DWORD) - Auto-start boolean
  • ActivateOnStart (DWORD) - Activate on startup boolean
  • ShowWelcome (DWORD) - Show welcome boolean
  • ToggleHotkey (DWORD) - Virtual key code
  • ToggleModifiers (DWORD) - Modifier flags

macOS

Settings are stored in UserDefaults:

Domain: com.mousecross.MouseCross

Keys:

  • crosshair.theme (Integer) - Theme (0=Light, 1=Dark, 2=Follow System)
  • crosshair.colorPreset (Integer) - Color preset (0=White, 1=Yellow, 2=Red)
  • crosshair.thickness (Double) - Line width
  • crosshair.opacity (Double) - Opacity (0.0-1.0)
  • crosshair.size (Double) - Cursor offset
  • crosshair.shape (Integer) - Shape enum value
  • behavior.autoStart (Bool) - Auto-start
  • behavior.activateOnStart (Bool) - Activate on startup
  • behavior.showWelcome (Bool) - Show welcome

Resetting Settings

Windows

Method 1: Use Restore Defaults button

  1. Open Settings
  2. Click "Restore Defaults"
  3. Click "Apply" or "OK"

Method 2: Delete registry key

  1. Run the included kill_and_reset.bat script
  2. Or manually delete HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MouseCross in Registry Editor

macOS

Method 1: Use Restore Defaults button

  1. Open Settings
  2. Click "Restore Defaults"
  3. Click "OK"

Method 2: Delete UserDefaults

defaults delete com.mousecross.MouseCross

Next Steps