I found a solution by combing your suggestion of using another pdf viewer - the Sumatra or PDF-XChange Editor - and changing the system mouse pointer as described here https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/questions/16761/presentation-software-with-a-cursor-looking-like-a-laser-pointer-instead-of-mous
"Go to the Mouse properties control panel, in the Devices and Pointers control panel section, click on the Pointers tab. Under the Customise scroll box there is a Browse... button. Clicking this allows you to select a .cur file to change the cursor's appearance. However, the built-in cursor files do not provide a laser-like cursor. This is where you have to create your own."
Answer from lkdo on Stack ExchangeI found a solution by combing your suggestion of using another pdf viewer - the Sumatra or PDF-XChange Editor - and changing the system mouse pointer as described here https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/questions/16761/presentation-software-with-a-cursor-looking-like-a-laser-pointer-instead-of-mous
"Go to the Mouse properties control panel, in the Devices and Pointers control panel section, click on the Pointers tab. Under the Customise scroll box there is a Browse... button. Clicking this allows you to select a .cur file to change the cursor's appearance. However, the built-in cursor files do not provide a laser-like cursor. This is where you have to create your own."
With just Adobe Acrobat:
- Cursor size: With current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader, the mouse pointer size follows the size set in Windows: Settings → Cursor & Pointer.
- Pen cursor and functionality: in Adobe Acrobat: Preferences → General → Basic Tools → Use single-key accelerators to access tools (checked)
- Then, in full-screen mode,
Shift+Dswitches to different annotation tools (side effect is that it changes the cursor for some of them). After pressing it about 7 times, you will get a pen. You can use it to draw on the slide as well! Hwill get you your hand cursor back.SFor a speech-bubble (comment - sticky note) cursor
- Then, in full-screen mode,
(More shortcuts and meaning: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/keyboard-shortcuts.html)
Presenting in full screen with a PDF, is there a way to get the mouse pointer to show up instead of the hand tool so I can point with my mouse while on the big screens?
Acrobat - Option to change the cursor into laser pointer for presentations – Share your feedback on Acrobat DC
Adobe Acrobat Reader - Cursor does not go away - Stack Overflow
Making the Hand Tool the default Adobe Acrobat Pro option
I can't seem to get the hand tool to remain as an arrow when I ctrl-L to fullscreen so I can present. When I go fullscreen the mouse pointer goes back to being the hand tool which is white and hard to see compared to the nice big red mouse pointer we've set up for the people using powerpoint.
Can I force acrobat to use the windows mouse pointer when fullscreen? I'd settle for the arrow that acrobat uses if that is as close as I can get. Anything but Mickey Mouse's hand.