Edit the Cursor with Effects

In this tutorial:

• Edit Cursor Properties
• Add and Edit Cursor Effects
• Hide the Cursor

Edit Cursor Properties

Adjust the size and opacity of the cursor.

1. Drag a Camtasia screen recording onto the timeline.
2. Click the Properties button to view the properties panel.
   
3. Select the Cursor tab.
   
4. Customize the cursor settings:
   • Scale: Drag the slider or enter a percentage value to enlarge or reduce the cursor size. The default is 225%.
   • Opacity: Drag the slider or enter a percentage value to increase or reduce the cursor transparency.

Add and Edit Cursor Effects

Add a cursor effect to improve visibility and focus for all or part of a screen recording.

1. Drag a Camtasia screen recording onto the timeline.
2. Click the Cursor Effects tab.
   
3. Drag an effect onto media on the timeline.
4. Edit the applied effect as desired:
   • Adjust the duration to enhance the cursor for only a portion of the clip:
     1. Click the arrow on the bottom of the clip to open the Effects tray.
        
     2. Drag the effect handles to adjust when the effect starts and ends during the clip.
        
   • Edit the cursor effect properties:
     1. Click the Properties button to view the properties panel.
     2. Select the Cursor tab.
        
     3. Customize the settings.

Effect	Description and Properties
Cursor Smoothing	Transforms distracting cursor movements into smooth lines. See Quickly Smooth Cursor Movements.
Cursor Spotlight	Draws attention to the cursor by dimming and blurring the rest of the screen area. Color: Color applied to dim the screen outside of the spotlight area. Size: Size of the spotlight area. Softness: Blur around the edge of the the spotlight area. Saturation: Color intensity of the screen recording outside of the spotlight area. Opacity: Transparency of the dimming color outside of the spotlight area. Blur: Clarity of the screen recording outside of the spotlight area. Ease In: Animates the start of the effect as a smooth transition. Ease Out: Animates the end of the effect as a smooth transition.
Highlight	Adds a circle of color to help the viewer identify and follow the cursor. Color: Color of the highlight around the cursor. Opacity: Transparency of the highlight color. Size: Size of the highlight area. Softness: Blur around the edge of the highlight area. Ease In: Animates the start of the effect as a smooth transition. Ease Out: Animates the end of the effect as a smooth transition.
Magnify	Enlarges the cursor area to show detail. Size: Size of the magnified area around the cursor. Zoom: Level of magnification. Shadow: Width and blurring of the magnification border. Softness: Blurring of the screen recording at the edge of the magnified area. Ease In: Animates the start of the effect as a smooth transition. Ease Out: Animates the end of the effect as a smooth transition.

Hide the Cursor

You can hide the cursor on any Camtasia screen recording (TREC file) added to the timeline.

To hide the cursor for an entire clip:

1. Click to select a TREC recording on the timeline.
2. Click the Properties button.
3. Click the Cursor tab and set the Opacity to 0%.

To hide the cursor for a duration of a clip:

1. Select Animations tab > Animations subtab.
   
2. Drag the Custom animation onto the TREC on the timeline.
3. Drag the animation arrow to the location to start hiding the cursor.
   
4. In the properties, click the Cursor tab and set the Opacity to 0%.
   
5. To show the cursor again in the video, drag another Custom animation onto the TREC on the timeline.
6. Drag the end of the animation arrow to the location for the cursor to appear.
   
7. In the properties, click the Cursor tab and set the Opacity to 100%.