Funny, I couldn’t find the answer to this anywhere, either the answers are unrelated or they are overly complicated. So here is what I did:
var imageLoader:Loader = new Loader(); imageLoader.load(new URLRequest("path to your image/some image.png")); var button:Sprite = new Sprite(); button.addChild(imageLoader); button.buttonMode = true; button.useHandCursor = true; addChild(button);
THAT’S IT!!!
UPDATE:
There is a useful comment bellow by Dan and I thought I should include it in this post so it’s easier for everyone to get the info:
Dan:
To get it to work with a Movieclip you need to set the movieclip as button mode true.
If its the entire stage that needs the hand icon you can add to your script layer.
myMc.buttonMode = true; myMc.useHandCursor = true;
I use it with an Event listener to only use hand cursor on specific movieclips.
myMc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.ROLL_OVER,myMcOver); function myMcOver (e:MouseEvent):void { myMc.buttonMode = true; myMc.useHandCursor = true; }
Hamid Alipour is a partner in Codehead, LLP with his wife, Tess. Hamid speaks 12 markup and programming languages [Yes, 12: PHP, CSS, Ajax, JavaScript, HTML/XHTML, Java, Python, C/C++, ASP, Visual Basic, Scheme and Action Script]; has a penchant for solving the unsolvable; an affinity for clean, hand-written code and is a Zend Certified 
Thank you! I have been lookinf for this info and there was ANYWHERE ELSE! I think many people want to use the hand cursor in their link images, but it seems no one wants to tell.
Thanks for sharing this!!
XOXOOX
Comment — June 16, 2009 @ 2:26 pm
Hey, thanks, it’s funny, I also feel the same when I search for Actionscript resources, it feels like no one wants to share
Comment — June 16, 2009 @ 3:24 pm
Another way to do this is:
myBtn.useHandCursor = true;
myBtn.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, myBtnHandler);
function myBtnHandler(e:Event) {
trace(“Button Pressed”);
};
myBtn is a “Button” under the properties panel. Doesn’t seem to work if it’s a “Movie Clip”. I simply made a square and converted it to a “Button”
Comment — August 9, 2009 @ 9:47 am
Thanks! Just what I needed.
Comment — August 12, 2009 @ 1:30 pm
Wow!…
Almost 1 year to the date and this little bit of code has help tremendously.
Thanks
Comment — September 15, 2009 @ 5:20 pm
John, thanks, that is very nice to hear
Comment — September 15, 2009 @ 5:35 pm
Excellent, it was really helpful!
Comment — September 30, 2009 @ 10:17 am
You don’t need the line:
button.useHandCursor = true;
Comment — October 7, 2009 @ 5:33 pm
That is what I needed! Thanks)
Comment — October 22, 2009 @ 1:00 pm
To get it to work with a Movieclip you need to set the movieclip as button mode true.
If its the entire stage that needs the hand icon you can add to your script layer.
myMc.buttonMode = true;
myMc.useHandCursor = true;
I use it with an Event listener to only use hand cursor on specific movieclips.
myMc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.ROLL_OVER,myMcOver);
function myMcOver (e:MouseEvent):void {
myMc.buttonMode = true;
myMc.useHandCursor = true;
}
Comment — November 11, 2009 @ 4:48 am
YES! I have seriously been looking for this solution for two hours. I had a swf movie that needed to animate on rollover AND make the cursor turn into the pointer hand.
Perfection, Dan. Sweetness!
Comment — January 4, 2010 @ 4:36 pm
Thanks, you’re a life saver!
Comment — January 28, 2010 @ 2:33 pm
How would you get a hand cursor when using a text element?
Comment — February 16, 2010 @ 5:17 pm
you can use the following script if you intend to use it on multiple items.
myMc1.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_OVER, hoverMouseHand);
myMc2.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_OVER, hoverMouseHand);
function hoverMouseHand(e:Event)
{
e.currentTarget.buttonMode = true;
e.currentTarget.useHandCursor = true;
}
Comment — February 18, 2010 @ 9:46 am
by that I mean if you want to use it on multiple mc’s without doing a lot of similar functions per mc.
cheers.
Comment — February 18, 2010 @ 9:51 am
Thank you thank you thank you!
Comment — February 20, 2010 @ 8:42 pm
Hi guys looked at the code above but not sure which part to use.
at the moment i have this code:
but i get no mouse over with the hand symbol where should i insert the text that you have created above?
Comment — February 26, 2010 @ 8:04 am