Windows · Accessibility
Customize the blinking text cursor
Text cursor settings let you change the color, size, and indicator of the blinking cursor that appears when typing, making it easier to locate on screen.
How to open Text Cursor
- Open Settings → Accessibility → Text cursor
- Toggle on the text cursor indicator if desired
- Choose an indicator color and adjust cursor thickness
- Review the live preview and close Settings
What you should know
- Enable a text cursor indicator that adds a colored glow around the cursor
- Choose from preset indicator colors or pick a custom color
- Adjust cursor thickness for greater visibility
- Preview changes live before applying them
Why it matters
The blinking text cursor is easy to lose track of on busy screens or for users with low vision, which can slow down typing and editing tasks considerably. Adding a bold, colored indicator around the cursor makes it instantly identifiable, reducing the time spent hunting for where text will be inserted. This is a small setting with an outsized daily impact for anyone who writes, edits, or codes for long stretches. It also benefits users with attention or tracking difficulties who lose their place easily while reading or editing.
Best practices
- Increase cursor thickness first before adding a color indicator
- Choose a high-contrast indicator color relative to your desktop theme
- Test cursor visibility across both light and dark apps
- Revisit after changing your display's contrast theme, since visibility needs may shift
Common problems and fixes
- Cursor indicator doesn't appear in some apps
- Some legacy or non-standard text fields don't support the indicator overlay; this is an app limitation.
- Indicator color blends into the background
- Choose a custom indicator color with stronger contrast against your typical background colors.
- Cursor still hard to see despite changes
- Increase both thickness and indicator size together for maximum visibility.
Tips and tricks
- Combine a bold indicator color with contrast themes for maximum visibility
- Try a mid-range thickness first, since an overly thick cursor can obscure nearby characters
Frequently asked questions
Does this change the mouse pointer too?
No, mouse pointer appearance is a separate setting; this only affects the blinking text-entry cursor.
Can I turn off the indicator later?
Yes, simply toggle the indicator off to return to the default thin cursor.
Does a thicker cursor affect typing speed?
No, it's purely visual and has no effect on input performance.
Related settings
- AccessibilityAccessibility settings (renamed from Ease of Access in earlier Windows versions) bring together vision, hearing, and interaction tools like Magnifier, Narrator, high contrast themes, live captions, and Sticky Keys. These features are designed to make Windows usable regardless of visual, auditory, or mobility needs, but many are genuinely useful for anyone.
- Mouse Pointer and TouchThis page controls the size, color, and style of the mouse pointer and touch indicator, making them easier to see and track across the screen.
- Contrast ThemesContrast themes apply high-contrast color combinations across Windows and apps, making text and UI elements easier to distinguish for people with low vision or light sensitivity.
More Accessibility guides for Windows
- Language & RegionLanguage & Region settings let you configure your display language, keyboard layouts, regional date/time formats, and add additional languages for typing and speech.
- Voice TypingVoice Typing lets you dictate text directly into any text field using your PC's microphone instead of a physical keyboard, powered by online speech recognition. Triggered with Win+H, it includes automatic punctuation, voice commands for corrections, and support for multiple dictation languages.
- NarratorNarrator is the screen reader built into Windows 11 that reads aloud on-screen text, describes buttons and controls, and lets you operate the entire system with the keyboard or touch instead of a mouse.
- Text SizeText size lets you enlarge text in most Windows apps and menus independently of overall display scaling, making content easier to read without shrinking the layout of everything else.
- Visual EffectsVisual effects settings let you turn off animations, transparency, and auto-hiding scroll bars to create a simpler, calmer, and more predictable interface.
- Voice AccessVoice access lets you control your PC and author text using only your voice, including opening apps, clicking on-screen elements by number labels, and dictating and editing documents hands-free.