Mouse cursor size: Small cursor in PyCharm on Linux Mint

Problem

The mouse cursor size becomes very small when hovered over the PyCharm window on Linux Mint (Cinnamon). Changing the system-wide cursor size does not affect the cursor size in PyCharm.

Cause

This issue appears to be related to the environment variable managing cursor size and its inconsistency with Java-based applications, such as PyCharm.

Resolution

To resolve the issue, follow these steps:

1. Use the XCURSOR_SIZE environment variable to set the cursor size when launching PyCharm:

   XCURSOR_SIZE=44 pycharm
   

   Replace 44 with the desired cursor size.

2. To make this change permanent for shortcuts or app launchers in Linux Mint:

   • Locate the .desktop file associated with PyCharm. Typically, it is located at:

     ~/.local/share/applications/jetbrains-pycharm.desktop
     

   • Edit the file to include the XCURSOR_SIZE environment variable in the Exec line. For example, change:

     Exec="<path_to_pycharm_installation>/bin/pycharm" %f
     

     to:

     Exec=env XCURSOR_SIZE=44 "<path_to_pycharm_installation>/bin/pycharm" %f
     

3. Save the changes and restart the launcher or the desktop environment to apply the new settings.

After these steps, the cursor size should be consistent within PyCharm and match the system cursor size.