Customize the animated cursor

Tella can redraw the cursor from captured mouse data, giving you control over how it looks and moves in your video.

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Check that cursor settings are available

The Cursor settings are available for eligible recordings from the Tella Mac and Windows apps. Record with Animated cursor or Hide cursor so Tella can redraw the pointer without duplicating one already visible in the recording.

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Turn on the animated cursor

1. Open your video in the Tella editor.
2. Click Effect in the sidebar, or press E.
3. In Cursor, turn on Cursor.

To control only the current clip, expand Advanced zoom settings under Zooms and turn on Adjust this clip before enabling the cursor.

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Customize the cursor

Use the controls in Cursor to adjust its appearance:

• Cursor style — choose macOS Sequoia, macOS Tahoe, macOS Golden Gate, Windows, or Touch.
• Size — drag the slider to make the cursor smaller or larger.

Expand Advanced cursor settings to control its movement and click effects:

• Smooth movement — soften the recorded cursor path.
• Movement tilt — tilt the cursor as it moves horizontally.
• Click spring — make the cursor shrink and spring back when you click.
• Click ripple — show a ripple around each click.
• Hide when inactive — fade the cursor out when it stops moving and bring it back when activity resumes.

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Apply settings to one clip

Cursor appearance settings apply across the video by default. With Adjust this clip off, turning on Cursor enables it on the selected clip and on eligible clips that already have zooms. Tella skips clips recorded with Show cursor because their pointer is already part of the video. Select another eligible clip and turn on Cursor there if it has no zooms yet. To customize only the current clip, expand Advanced zoom settings under Zooms and turn on Adjust this clip before changing its cursor settings. Turn it off to make the clip use the video-wide styling again.

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Use the animated cursor with Auto Zoom

On eligible Mac and Windows app recordings, Auto Zoom and Cursor use the same captured mouse data but control different things:

• Auto Zoom follows the pointer to frame the action.
• Cursor controls how the pointer itself looks and moves.

You can use either feature on its own or combine them. Chrome tab recordings can support Auto Zoom even though their cursor cannot be restyled. See add zooms and screen effects to generate or edit zooms.