The Sinclair QL Forum

Recent versions of SMSQ/E let you load a 6x10 pixel QL sprite as a cursor in place of the usual flashing red rectangle, using the extensions CURSPRLOAD CURSPRON and CURSPROFF.

I've put together a small novelty package of sample cursors made with Easysprite (some of them trivial!) and a document describing how to use them. Look for the CURSPR package on the GD2 page at http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/gd2/index.html

Hi Dilwyn,

A possible use, could be to have a Spectrum style cursor, where the Cursor changes to a flashing C when the Capslock is pressed, but that would need some code to detect the chnage in Capslock.

Derek

Derek_Stewart wrote:Hi Dilwyn,

A possible use, could be to have a Spectrum style cursor, where the Cursor changes to a flashing C when the Capslock is pressed, but that would need some code to detect the chnage in Capslock.

Derek

Try this: http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/gd2/caps.zip

It's a short SBASIC program you can customise yourself and execute in the background which simply changes between two cursor sprites when you press Caps Lock. To be honest, I didn't spend much time on it, so it's ripe for improvement especially if someone cares to make nicer looking sprites than the few I've included, specially if someone would like to try their hand with some nice alpha-blend sprites for the high colour modes, for example.

To run the program, just EXEC caps_bas, but make sure you edit the filenames of the sprites at the start of the program to match where you store the program and sprites, or edit them to use the Home Directory thing HOME_DIR$ function, for example, so that the program picks up the sprites from the directory it's run from
Notes in its readme_txt file.

Have fun!

Hi Dilwyn,

I tried your Caps programme on the Q68 and SMSQ/E v3.34, worked really well.

Just had to execute the SBAIC programme, pressing the CAPS Lock changed the cutsor to a flashing Red C

Also the sprite collection to be used with the CURSPRLOAD command worked great on the Q68.

Derek_Stewart wrote:Hi Dilwyn,

I tried your Caps programme on the Q68 and SMSQ/E v3.34, worked really well.

Just had to execute the SBAIC programme, pressing the CAPS Lock changed the cutsor to a flashing Red C

Also the sprite collection to be used with the CURSPRLOAD command worked great on the Q68.

Thanks Derek. Good to know it works on Q68.

Hi Dilwyn,

The ability to change the cursor with a sprite is a good feature in SMSQ/E, many years ago, I tried with Minerva to alter the shape of the cursor. Whhich sort of worked, but not as neat as the SMSQ/E CURSPRLOAD command.

I have been using Duncan Nethercut's "EDDICON" sprite editor, which gives good and easy definition of new and existing uncompressed sprites.

I did have trouble understanding SPRITED and EASYSPRITE of how to load a existing binary sprite, but EDDICON does easily.