Preferences: Cursor

Context

The two parts of the cursor, the crosshairs and the circular cursor are described below.

  • Crosshairs: The intersection of the crosshairs indicates the (X,Y) position of the cursor, and is where tracing points will be placed. The length of the crosshairs can be adjusted to increase or decrease its visibility on the screen, or can be set to a user-specified length for rapid comparison of object size.

  • Circular cursor: The center of the circular cursor is at the same position as the center of the crosshairs. The diameter of the circular cursor is adjustable and dictates the thickness of traced contours.

Settings

Crosshair size

To change the cursor crosshairs length, choose pixels or microns from the dropdown menu, then enter a size in the text box, or use the up and down arrows next to the text box.

You can change the size of the cursor crosshairs by clicking CTRL-Up/Down arrow on the keyboard.

It is often useful to set the cursor crosshairs to a known size for a rapid comparison of objects on the screen.

If you set the size in microns, the cursor changes size when a new lens is selected; its size remains constant when set in pixels.

Diameter

To change the circular cursor diameter, enter a micron size in the text box, or use the up and down arrows next to the text box.

The circular cursor is drawn as close as possible to the specified size; accuracy depends on the micron to pixel ratio of the current lens.

The size of the circular cursor dictates the thickness of the contour that you are tracing.

NeuroInfo always records the circular cursor size during tracing.

To show the line thickness:

  1. Go to File>Preferences>Tracing.
  2. Under View, check Display line Thickness. 

Thickness

To change the cursor thickness, enter a pixel size in the text box, or use the up and down arrows next to the text box. Increasing the thickness of the cursor can make it easier to see on the screen.

Use fast cursor

Check the box to improve the reactivity of the cursor and decrease lag time when moving around the screen.

Show diameter of the cursor in the status bar

Check the box to display the circular cursor diameter in the status bar following the (X,Y,Z) positions.

Show size of the crosshair in the status bar

Check to the box to display the cursor crosshairs length in the status bar following the (X,Y,Z) positions and circular cursor diameter if displayed.

Use pen buttons for circular cursor sizing

Check the box to enable adjustment of the circular cursor diameter with pen buttons when using a pen tablet.

Crosshair color

Click Crosshair color to select a new color for the cursor.