Custom Cursors using Java

[gszauer]

This is more of a sample than a tutorial. I will provide you with the code to create a custom cursor, and explain the funtions used by refrencing the Java Documentation.
Note, for this to work you need an image called cursor.gif in the same directory as your compiled file.

Lets start with the code, and work backwards:

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
// The classes needed for custom cursor ate in
// java.awt.Toolkit;
 
public class CustomCursor {
  private int final WIDTH = 300, HEIGHT = 100;
  private JButton button;
  private JTextField textfield;
  private JLabel label, label2;
  private JHandle bHandle;
  
  public CustomCursor () {
    JFrame myFrame = new JFrame();
    button = new JButton ("Show me");
    textfield = new JTextField();
    label = new JLabel ("Enter string");
    label2 = new JLabel (" ");
    bHandle = new JHandle();
    button.addActionListener(bHandle);
    
    Toolkit toolkit = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit();
    Image cursorImage = toolkit.getImage("cursor.gif");
    Point cursorHotSpot = new Point(0,0);
    Cursor customCursor = toolkit.createCustomCursor(cursorImage, cursorHotSpot, "Cursor");
    myFrame.setCursor(customCursor);
    
    Container pane = myFrame.getContentPane();
    pane.setLayout (new GridLayout(2, 2));
    pane.add(label);
    pane.add(label2);
    pane.add(textfield);
    pane.add(button);
    
    myFrame.setSize(WIDTH, HEIGHT);
    myFrame.setTitle("Cursor Frame");
    myFrame.setVisible(true);
    myFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
  }
  
  private class JHandle implements ActionListener {
    public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
      String display = textfield.getText();
      JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, display, "MyWindow", JOptionPane.PLAIN_MESSAGE);
    }
  }
  
  public static void main (String[] arg){
    CustomCursor myWindow = new CustomCursor();
  }
} 

For now i will focus on the codeblock wich makes the custom cursor possible:

Toolkit toolkit = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit();
Image cursorImage = toolkit.getImage("cursor.gif");
Point cursorHotSpot = new Point(0,0);
Cursor customCursor = toolkit.createCustomCursor(cursorImage, cursorHotSpot, "Cursor");
myFrame.setCursor(customCursor); 

-- Line 1
Lets start with the Toolkit:
Toolkit (Java 2 Platform SE v1.4.2)
And look at the getDefaultToolkit function:
Toolkit (Java 2 Platform SE v1.4.2))

-- Line 2
The image class:
Image (Java 2 Platform SE v1.4.2)
And the toolkits get image function:
Toolkit (Java 2 Platform SE v1.4.2))

-- Line 3
The point class:
Java 2 Platform SE v1.3.1: Class Point

-- Line 4
The cursor class:
Java 2 Platform SE v1.3.1: Class Cursor
The create custom cursor function:
Toolkit (Java 2 Platform SE v1.4.2))

-- Line 5
This is self explanatory. Note you do not have to use a JFrame. You could set custom cursors for JButtons, ect...