High Contrast Cursor Registry Locations in Windows

Windows stores system-wide accessibility settings and mouse pointer configurations directly within the Windows Registry. This article details the exact registry paths where the operating system defines, stores, and applies system-wide high-contrast cursor themes and schemes across all users and the default logon environment.

System-Wide Cursor Scheme Definitions

The definitions for all available mouse cursor schemes—including Windows Black, Windows Inverted, and Extra Large high-contrast variations—are stored machine-wide under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hive.

To view the complete list of system-wide cursor theme definitions:

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.

2. Navigate to:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Control Panel\Cursors\Schemes

Within this key, string values (REG_SZ) define the file paths for each cursor role (Arrow, Help, Wait, Crosshair, etc.) separated by commas for each named scheme, such as: * Windows Black (large) (system scheme) * Windows Black (extra large) (system scheme) * Windows Inverted (large) (system scheme) * Windows Inverted (extra large) (system scheme)

System-Wide Default and Logon Screen Cursors

To apply high-contrast cursor parameters system-wide (including the Windows logon/lock screen and the default user profile), the configuration parameters are stored in the .DEFAULT user hive:

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Cursors

Key values within this path include:

• (Default) / Scheme Source: A REG_DWORD value indicating whether the scheme is a system scheme (1) or a custom scheme (2).
• Individual Cursor Role Values (REG_SZ or REG_EXPAND_SZ):
  • Arrow: Normal select pointer
  • Help: Help select
  • AppStarting: Working in background
  • Wait: Busy
  • Crosshair: Precision select
  • IBeam: Text select
  • NWPen: Handwriting
  • No: Unavailable
  • SizeNS, SizeWE, SizeNWSE, SizeNESW: Resize indicators
  • SizeAll: Move
  • UpArrow: Alternate select
  • Hand: Link select

To force a high-contrast cursor set on the logon screen, these values must point to the appropriate .cur or .ani file paths located in C:\Windows\Cursors (such as arrow_rl.cur or arrow_il.cur).

High Contrast Accessibility Flag Integration

When High Contrast mode is toggled via Ease of Access, Windows references the accessibility settings located at:

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Accessibility\HighContrast

• Flags (REG_SZ): Controls whether High Contrast mode is enabled at the system logon level.
• High Contrast Scheme (REG_SZ): Specifies the active high-contrast color and theme profile, which coordinates with the corresponding cursor scheme.