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 Exchange
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PDF Annotator
pdfannotator.com › pdf annotator manual › settings
Settings: Tools, Cursor - PDF Annotator Manual
However, a standard mouse pointer can be shown instead of the pen or marker tip. Choose Extras Settings Tools Cursor, activate Display cursor instead of pen tip and select a cursor.
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PDF Annotator
pdfannotator.com › pdf annotator manual › managing pdf files
Presenting PDF - PDF Annotator Manual
To present slide shows prepared in the PDF format, use Full Screen Mode. Use the Laser Pointer tool as a pointing device during presentations.
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Acrobatusers
answers.acrobatusers.com › Presenter-pointer-q135745.aspx
Presenter pointer ()
I lecture off of a pdf file projected onto a screen in a large lecture room. I want to know if Adobe Acrobat supports a laser pointer like SAS JMP does?
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/software › 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?
r/software on Reddit: 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?
January 21, 2020 -

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.

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Adobe
helpx.adobe.com › acrobat › kb › mouse-cursor-changes-into-a-black-box.html
Mouse pointer changes into a black box or square when moved over blank areas in a PDF document
May 24, 2023 - In Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader, find a solution for an issue where the mouse pointer changes into a black box or square when moved over blank areas in a PDF document.
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GitHub
github.com › Dinoosauro › pdf-pointer
GitHub - dinoosauro/pdf-pointer: Display PDFs with a pointer, make quick annotations (that automatically disappear), and zoom them
Display PDFs (or images) with a pointer, make quick annotations (that automatically disappear), zoom them, and export everything as an image Try it: https://dinoosauro.github.io/pdf-pointer/ When you open the website, you'll be prompted to open a website. Click on the button and select one of it. If you've installed PDFPointer as a Progressive Web App, you can open PDF files directly from your device's file picker.
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I know that you said that you want to use Acrobat but this page, Use Mouse as Laser Pointer in a PowerPoint Presentation, shows you how to do it in PowerPoint, using an inbuilt function, without the need for extra/third party software (always a bonus).

You have a presentation to deliver in few minutes and you just realize that you forgot your laser point in home because you were in a hurry. Don’t Panic. PowerPoint has an amazing feature using which you can turn your mouse pointer to a laser light pointer.

When you are presenting a slideshow, hold down the Ctrl key and press the left mouse button. You will notice that the regular mouse pointer will disappear and a laser like dot appears on the screen. Once you see the laser pointer, you can move it across the screen to explain the viewers certain aspects of your presentation.

To use mouse cursor again release the control key. That’s all.

By default the color of laser pointer is red but you can change it to green and blue if it’s camouflaging with the slide background. To change the color, expand the Slide Show menu and open the Set Up Slide Show window. On the window you will see the option Laser Pointer Color. Click on the dropdown menu and select the color you would like and save the settings.

Keep in mind that when you are controlling your presentation using mouse, always remember to press the Ctrl key first or you might skip a slide there.


You could convert the PDF to a PPT file (see also How to export PDF to Word, Excel or PowerPoint using Acrobat XI) and use the laser pointer method described above.

Alternative

You don't say which OS you are using but if you are using Windows, and you don't mind a bit of prep work, you could create your own laser pointer cursor.

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.

In MSPaint, you can create a laser-like "red dot", on a canvas with a size of 32 pixels square (32x32), save it as a bitmap file, i.e. laser.bmp. Then in Windows Explorer, right click that file, select Properties and change the file extension from .bmp to .cur, so that you end up with laser.cur.

Now, go back into the Mouse control panel, Pointers tab, browse for your laser.cur file and select it.

Your mouse cursor is now a laser, just as you wanted for your presentation, with the bonus of not requiring extra software AND you can use Acrobat for your presentation, without having to resort to using PowerPoint.

Alternatively, you could always download a custom cursor .cur file, such as the Predator 3 Dot Laser Cursor.

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I recommend Presentation Pointer Software.

The Presentation Pointer Software:

  • Adds cursor highlighting abilities and more visual and audible mouse click effects
  • Displays your keystrokes in an overlay at the bottom of the screen.
  • Allows you to draw on a “live” screen to point out whatabouts and whereabouts of the things you are demonstrating.
  • Allows you to zoom in and zoom out the screen and still use its usual utilities.
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PDF XChange
forum.pdf-xchange.com › home › board index › end user forums - current releases › pdf-xchange editor
Making the pointer easy to see - PDF XChange Forum
But after selecting the Pencil Tool, it is very hard to find where the cursor is. Is it possible to keep the cursor visible as a "laser pointer" (the way it is possible in Microsoft power point) and to switch to Pencil Tool after placing the cursor at the correct starting position for the ...
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Drawboard
support.drawboard.com › hc › en-us › articles › 10712217867791-Laser-Pointer
Laser Pointer – Drawboard Help Centre
Select between a Trail and Point laser and set the appearance of the Laser Pointer including size, opacity, color effects and timing. ... Toggle on Highlight mode on and your laser will show up underneath PDF content.
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
How to put a Right Pointer comment in a pdf file using Adobe ...
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
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Adobe UserVoice
acrobat.uservoice.com › forums › 590923-acrobat-for-windows-and-mac › suggestions › 44210547-acrobat-option-to-change-the-cursor-into-laser-p
Acrobat - Option to change the cursor into laser pointer for presentations – Share your feedback on Acrobat DC
I build most of my presentation decks in Illustrator and export to PDF for Acrobat. It would be useful to have my cursor act like a red-dot laser pointer for presentations. Now that so many meetings are remote (Zoom) it would be nice to have more robust presentation features.
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Space Telescope Science Institute
stsci.edu › itt › APT_help › P2PI_ENG21 › ch01_intro8.html
Some Pointers in PDF and APT JavaHelp
HST Phase II Proposal Instructions for Cycle 21 (Engineering) > Chapter 1: About This Document > 1.7 Some Pointers in PDF and APT JavaHelp
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Productivity Pointer - PDF Tips - YouTube
Two ways to use PDFs that you might not know about. Give them a try!============================================================================ Step-by-ste...
Published   November 2, 2022
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TutorialsPoint
tutorialspoint.com › cprogramming › pdf › c_pointers.pdf pdf
http://www.tutorialspoint.com/cprogramming/c_pointers.htm
defined which can be accessed using ampersand & operator, which denotes an address in · memory. Consider the following example, which will print the address of the variables defined: ... So you understood what is memory address and how to access it, so base of the concept is over. Now let us see what is a pointer.
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
Adobe Reader XI - how to turn on the hand tool - YouTube
This is a video about how to turn on the hand tool in Adobe Reader XI.
Published   September 22, 2016
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IIT Kharagpur
cse.iitkgp.ac.in › ~pallab › PDS-2011-SPRING › Lec-6.pdf pdf
1 Dept. of CSE, IIT KGP Pointers Pointers CS10001:
Pointers are often passed to a function as arguments. – Allows data items within the calling program to be · Allows data items within the calling program to be · accessed by the function, altered, and then returned to the · accessed by the function, altered, and then returned to the ... The data items are copied to the function. – Changes are not reflected in ...
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Slideshare
slideshare.net › home › engineering › easy understanding of pointers in c language.pdf
EASY UNDERSTANDING OF POINTERS IN C LANGUAGE.pdf
Some key points: 1. Pointers store the address of another variable of the same data type. They allow accessing and modifying values using their memory location rather than their name.