Windows wait cursor

There are two uses for the wait cursor: short term and long term. The wait cursor is a shared resource in the system across applications and windows. By default, when the mouse cursor is in a window, the cursor shown is controlled by the window's registered window class and handling of WM_SETCURSOR. Different scenarios can be used instead.^[2]

In Microsoft Foundation Class Library (MFC) the wait cursor can be controlled by CWaitCursor. If a local instance is created, the wait cursor is reset when the instance goes out of scope. It is used primarily for short term wait cursors.^[2]

In Windows Forms, each Control instance has a Cursor property, which can be controlled by the application itself. Control.Cursor is the cursor shown when the mouse is in the control's region; System.Windows.Forms.Cursor.Current is the cursor shown when the mouse enters any window of the application.^[2]

For long term wait cursors, the UseWaitCursor property can be set (either Control level or application level) on one occasion and reset at another time.^[2]

• Spinning pinwheel
• Spinning wheel (throbber)
• Spinning cursor
• Throbber