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How can I set my mouse cursor to be black on Ubuntu 14.04?

ElefantPhace
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iuliancalin
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  • When you want to add a tutorial, please do it in the Q&A format: http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2011/07/its-ok-to-ask-and-answer-your-own-questions/ so that it has a question and the answer is below. You also made a few mistakes in the commands that you gave us, please be careful to get them exact. – Tim Aug 08 '14 at 18:27
  • Well thanks for the tip, i don't use ask-ubuntu so much but I thought it would be usefull – iuliancalin Aug 08 '14 at 18:35
  • Yeah, that's okay :) The blog is good. Also, you shouldn't use sudo for a gui program, go for gksudo. – Tim Aug 08 '14 at 18:39
  • @Tim actually... you shouldn't use gksudo any-more either http://meta.askubuntu.com/questions/6634/psa-gksu-is-no-longer-installed-by-default/6636#6636 – Mateo Aug 08 '14 at 19:13
  • @Mateo Wow! Changes every year :P – Tim Aug 08 '14 at 19:32
  • Tim, at the begining of using ubuntu (or linux in general) i used to do sudo chmod -R 777 on the folder /icons so i have permisions to make changes, but then i didnt know how to make the permisions as it should be, i'm just a user that uses the OS for every day tasks (inkscape, youtube, mail, and so on). I use terminal only then when there is no graphical solution. – iuliancalin Aug 09 '14 at 07:51
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    But sometimes the graphical solution is bad. It is a bad idea to have a root nautilus open, what if your mouse slips? Terminal is much safer. – Tim Aug 09 '14 at 10:05
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    or if you start touching things in your home folder, they then get owned by root, next thing you know you can't login or access your files, then someone recommends the 777 thing... and all your files are open to hacking, it's a downward spiral of bad advice. – Mateo Aug 09 '14 at 15:00
  • Possible duplicate of askubuntu.com/questions/69105/… – AliNajafies Oct 18 '14 at 21:42

1 Answers1

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  1. Open terminal and type:

    cp -r /usr/share/icons/DMZ-White ~/Documents/

    This is to make a backup of the current theme. (just in case you want to reverse the changes)

  2. Next copy the icon folder to replace the icons with this command:

    sudo cp -r /usr/share/icons/DMZ-Black/* /usr/share/icons/DMZ-White/

  3. Logout and login, there you have it, a nice black mouse cursor.

To recover the white mouse cursor, from your backup, do the following command then logout and in again:

sudo cp -r ~/Documents/DMZ-White/* /usr/share/icons/DMZ-White/
Mateo
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Tim
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  • nice editing, but, some peaple don't use terminal, me for example, so please add the Nautilus option. Thanks – iuliancalin Aug 09 '14 at 07:36
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    The nautilus option is a bad option. If you use Ubuntu, you will end up having to use terminal. – Tim Aug 09 '14 at 07:59
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    you were using terminal to open nautilus? so why not just have the commands, it is easier to cut and paste two lines then - open nautilus - navigate to folder - copy file, paste file - navigate to other folder - copy files, paste files. It may be easier for you at first to think of the answer, but it is not easier to follow the directions. anyway opening nautilus as root is not recommended or safe for new users, if you were to keep a answer around with those instructions we would need large bold warnings, and explanations, you may understand the hazard but others might not. – Mateo Aug 09 '14 at 14:48
  • ok, i understand, but i always forget the commands – iuliancalin Aug 10 '14 at 08:49
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    Bookmark this. They are pretty easy tbh, cp is copy, then you say location from and location to. – Tim Aug 10 '14 at 08:51
  • You can just copy only the "cursors" folder inside; or easier, rename two folders instead of making backup. By the way, is it a bug? Changing the cursor theme should easily change the cursor color. – AliNajafies Oct 18 '14 at 20:28