Arrow is a white cross

Question

I have tried opening in safe mode, I have tried pressing F8, I have tried disabling settings, I cannot get my arrow to be an arrow in excel anymore. It is always a white plus sign.

Answer 1

Dear @C,

Thank you for contacting the Microsoft 365 Q&A Forum Community Support team. I understand how frustrating it is when your cursor behavior changes unexpectedly, especially when standard troubleshooting like Safe Mode doesn't seem to resolve it. 

I have investigated this behavior, and I want to provide some clarity on how the Excel cursor functions. In Microsoft Excel, the "White Plus Sign" (Cross) is actually the default, standard selection cursor. It is designed to help you select cells or ranges. 

To help me narrow down the cause, could you please provide the following details?  

• What version of Excel are you using? 
• Do you experience this issue when opening a specific file, or does it occur with all spreadsheets? 
• Have you recently updated or made any changes to your Office or operating system settings? 
• Do you have any Excel add-ins enabled that might be causing this cursor change? 
• Can you take a screenshot of what the "Arrow is a white cross" message looks like on your end? 

In the meantime, If you are looking for the "Arrow" pointer, it only appears in specific contexts within the application. Here is how to navigate this: 

Step 1: Understanding the cursor change 

• The White Cross: This is the standard state when your mouse is hovering over the grid of cells. It allows you to click and drag to select data. 
• The White Arrow: This appears when you move your mouse outside the grid (e.g., toward the Ribbon, the Formula Bar, or the Scroll bars). It also appears when you hover over objects like charts or images. 

Step 2: If the "Fill Handle" or "Drag and Drop" is Missing 

If your concern is that you cannot move cells (the 4-headed arrow) or use the "Fill Handle" (the thin black cross), this feature might have been accidentally disabled in your settings. 

To re-enable this: 

1. Open Excel and click on File > Options. 
2. Go to the Advanced category. 
3. Under Editing options, ensure the checkbox for "Enable fill handle and cell drag-and-drop" is checked. 
4. Click OK. 

Step 3: Check for "Select Objects" Mode 

Sometimes, the cursor can get "stuck" if a specific selection mode is active. 

1. Go to the Home tab. 
2. In the Editing group, click Find & Select. 
3. Ensure Select Objects is not highlighted. If it is, click it to toggle it off. 

Please understand that as a Community Support Moderator, my role is to provide technical guidance, documentation, and troubleshooting steps. I do not have the ability to remotely access your computer or change your local software settings directly. 

If you find that the cursor is behaving this way across all Office applications (not just Excel), or if it remains a cross even when pointing at the Ribbon menus, I recommend contacting your company’s IT Administrator. They can check if a custom Windows Mouse Scheme or a third-party accessibility tool is overriding the default Excel pointers. 

I hope this clarifies the standard behavior of the Excel workspace. Please let me know if you have any further questions or if the problem persists after trying these solutions. Thank you for your patience and cooperation. 

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Answer 2

The issue you're experiencing with the arrow appearing as a white plus sign in Excel could be related to the cursor settings or the mode in which Excel is operating. Here are a few steps you can try to resolve this:

1. Check Cursor Settings: Ensure that your mouse settings are configured correctly in Windows. Sometimes, the cursor settings can affect how the pointer appears in applications.
2. Disable Add-ins: If you haven't already, try disabling any Excel add-ins that might be causing the issue. You can do this by going to File > Options > Add-Ins, then manage and disable any active add-ins.
3. Repair Office: If the problem persists, consider repairing your Office installation. You can do this by going to Settings > Apps > Apps & features, selecting your Office program, and then choosing Modify to perform an online repair.
4. Check for Compatibility Mode: Make sure Excel is not running in Compatibility Mode, as this can sometimes cause display issues.

If none of these solutions work, you may want to contact Microsoft Support for further assistance.