Does anyone know how to change the mouse pointer back into its normal single arrow pointer? Two or three times recently while flying in Microsoft Flight Simulator, my normal arrow-shaped mouse pointer suddenly became a 4-arrow symbol and I did not know how to get my normal mouse pointer back. When this problem happens, if I click the mouse scroll wheel, the pointer changes into a weird 4-pointed arrow symbol and I cannot click anything with it.
This condition must be caused by something I do with my keyboard but what? I searched the forum for keywords mouse, pointer, arrow, and other word combinations but could not find anything about this. I think re-starting the sim solves the problem but I’d like to know what causes the mouse pointer to change in the first place. Having to re-start the sim for this is not very funny.
Any help with this would be very appreciated. Thank you.
If this is the cursor you’re seeing, it’s intended for moving the program’s window to a different place on the screen. You might have gotten it by pressing the Alt key and the spacebar together, releasing them, and then pressing the M key. (The Alt+space shortcut opens the “system menu” from the little program icon in the top left corner, and M is the letter that selects Move in that menu.)
Thanks PeterE1959. I have a Microsoft keyboard and mouse and, per your suggestion, I downloaded the MS MouseKeyboardCenter 64bits, installed it and let it do its thing. I then performed a KSFO to KLAX flight. The mouse pointer behaved normally but once close to KLAX, the dreaded 4-pointed mouse pointer re-appeared, for no apparent reason. I was thus unable to complete my flight. I’ll have to look for another solution.
Thank you for your suggestion but it happens to be one of those I tried when I searched the Web before turning to this forum. I did not work in my case, unfortunately. Another thing: In MSFS, doesn’t hitting the Escape key take you back to the main menu? I’m looking for a way to correct my mouse pointer’s behavior without having to quit the flight.
I’ve often seen my pointer change to the arrow point in two directions, and to clear it I open a pop up window, like the VFR map, click on it, then close it again.
I’ve not noticed what triggers is, but presumably whatever interactable causes the pointer change in the first place.
Weird. This same thing happened to me, only in FS2020 with my HP, a few weeks ago. Nothing I did would correct it. I just lived with it and a little while later it corrected itself.
Geez, another version of a move/pan tool. Try and click the mouse wheel button when you are in an app and you see your mouse change to the panning tool (4 arrow pointer). Although, I can’t really see it being implemented in MSFS. It seems like a lot of inadvertent clicks have to happen to reproduce the move window mouse function in the game, as described above.
I believe that “tool” was designed as a covert productivity interruption feature, to frustrate unsuspecting PC app users.
Some good suggestions here but, though I spent a lot of time in Flight Simulator today, my ‘mouse pointer’ issue has not reappeared. I’m almost anxious for it to pop up again so I can press ‘V’ to get the VFR window and close it, just to try that theory. And, Kapustick, you may be on to something; it is very frustrating indeed.
I get the two arrow pointer. I click somewhere on Little Navmap and that seems to do the trick. It seems pretty random; I have no idea what causes the anomoly.
What I’ve noticed is that this is triggered when you use the tab key (for ATC window) activation or the ‘V’ key (for v-map activation) to CLOSE those windows while the mouse cursor is on or near the open / active window on your screen.
I stopped using the mouse to deactivate these popup windows and in fact try to keep the cursor OFF the screen at all times. I remember when it was an FSX bug that caused stutters and lower FPS to have the cursor ‘on screen’ - Also - when the cursor is left on screen and even after it fades out, it will still highlight ‘tool tips’ labels if you pan your view around and the cursor (hidden or not) passes over a control panel object.
is the cursor you’re seeing, it’s intended for moving the program’s window to a different place on the screen. You might have gotten it by pressing the Alt key and the spacebar together, releasing them, and then pressing the M key. (The Alt+space shortcut opens the “system menu” from the little program icon in the top left corner, and M is the letter that selects Move in that menu.)