Considering an alternative approach derived from the feedback provided in the initial response. This workaround involves concealing the actual cursor and utilizing an image to simulate its movement. The inspiration for this solution stemmed from the second response in this thread on resizing a cursor image.
I integrated this workaround in Angular by creating a directive that can be applied to the canvas element within the template. The directive requires the specification of the image to be displayed as the cursor, along with an additional parameter for setting the image size. It is advisable to utilize an SVG image for optimal resizing, although conventional image formats can also be used.
Below is the implementation of the Directive for an SVG image:
@Directive({
selector: '[svgCursor]'
})
export class SvgCursorDirective {
private cursorSizeValue: number = 16;
@Input('svgCursor') public svgImage: SVGSVGElement;
@Input() public set cursorSize(cursorSize: number) {
this.cursorSizeValue = cursorSize;
this.updateCursorSize();
}
constructor(el: ElementRef) {
el.nativeElement.style.cursor = 'none'; // hides the browser cursor
}
@HostListener('mouseenter') onMouseEnter() {
// displays the image only when the mouse enters the element
this.svgImage.style.visibility = 'visible';
}
@HostListener('mousemove', ['$event']) onMouseMove(e: MouseEvent) {
// positions the image at the mouse cursor
this.svgImage.style.left = e.clientX.toString();
this.svgImage.style.top = (e.clientY - this.cursorSizeValue).toString();
}
@HostListener('mouseleave') onMouseLeave() {
// hides the image when the mouse leaves the element
this.svgImage.style.visibility = 'hidden';
}
private updateCursorSize() {
if (this.svgImage != null) {
this.svgImage.style.width = this.cursorSizeValue.toString();
this.svgImage.style.height = this.cursorSizeValue.toString();
}
}
}
Once the directive is in place, it can be utilized within a component template as demonstrated below:
<svg #cursorImage class="cursor" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M0 0h24v24H0z" fill="none"/><path d="M7 14c-1.66 0-3 1.34-3 3 0 1.31-1.16 2-2 2 .92 1.22 2.49 2 4 2 2.21 0 4-1.79 4-4 0-1.66-1.34-3-3-3zm13.71-9.37l-1.34-1.34c-.39-.39-1.02-.39-1.41 0L9 12.25 11.75 15l8.96-8.96c.39-.39.39-1.02 0-1.41z"/></svg>
<canvas class="myCanvas" [svgCursor]="cursorImage" [cursorSize]="cursorSize"></canvas>
As illustrated, a template reference variable must be assigned to the image in order to pass it as a parameter to the svgCursor directive.
Additionally, to ensure proper functionality, appropriate CSS styles need to be set for the image to eliminate unnecessary elements. The image is initially hidden and only becomes visible upon entering the canvas area.
Below are the CSS styles employed:
.myCanvas {
width: 400px;
height: 400px;
background-color: lightgreen;
}
.cursor {
position: absolute;
cursor: none;
pointer-events: none;
visibility: hidden;
}
A functional illustration of this implementation is available in a live StackBlitz demo for better understanding.