OBS Creator Box

The OBS Creator Box is a borderless, fixed-position panel that always displays a live magnified view of the area around your cursor. Unlike the Magnifier (which floats and follows the cursor) or Screen Zoom (which zooms the whole display), the Creator Box stays put at a position you choose. Its content tracks the cursor while the panel itself does not move.

This makes it ideal as a permanent picture-in-picture cursor cam in an OBS scene: viewers always see what’s around your pointer, even when you’re typing, scrolling, or navigating off-screen.

How It Differs from Other Magnification Features

Feature	Window Position	Magnified Content	Best For
Creator Box	Fixed (you place it)	Tracks cursor	Streaming, screen recording overlay
Magnifier	Follows cursor	Tracks cursor	Detailed inspection, precision work
Screen Zoom	Full screen	Pan around the screen	Live presentations, walkthroughs

Activation

Action	Default Shortcut
Toggle Creator Box	Ctrl + Shift + B

The shortcut is fully customizable on the Display → OBS Creator Box settings page (click Edit to change the combination). It supports both Toggle and Hold activation modes. Hold mode is useful when you only want the panel visible during specific moments of a stream rather than throughout.

Quick Start

1. Navigate to Display → OBS Creator Box in the settings window.
2. Toggle the feature On (or press Ctrl + Shift + B).
3. The panel appears at its saved position. Drag it anywhere on screen to reposition. The new position is remembered across launches.
4. Move your cursor anywhere on the desktop. The panel always shows the magnified region around the pointer.
5. Adjust panel size, magnification level, shape, and border to suit your scene.

Adding the Panel to OBS Studio

1. In OBS Studio, click the + icon under Sources and choose Window Capture.
2. Name the source (e.g. FriskyMouse Cursor Cam) and click OK.
3. In the Window dropdown, select the entry titled FriskyMouse Creator Box.
4. Recommended settings:
   • Capture Method: Windows 10 (1903 and up) for best performance and smooth updates.
   • Capture Cursor: Off. The panel itself contains the magnified cursor view, so you don’t want OBS overlaying its own cursor on top.
5. Resize and place the captured source in your scene as desired.

Note

The Creator Box window title is fixed at FriskyMouse Creator Box so OBS can find it reliably across app restarts and profile switches. Don’t rename it.

Tip

The Creator Box panel is rendered above other windows on your local display, but only its window contents are sent to OBS. Your viewers see just the magnified cursor cam, not the rest of your desktop.

Panel Size

Width and height of the Creator Box panel in pixels.

Setting	Range	Default
Width	160 – 1920	480
Height	90 – 1080	270

The default 480×270 is a 16:9 ratio that drops cleanly into a corner of a 1080p OBS scene. Resize to match your scene layout. Common choices:

• 480×270: small corner cam (default)
• 640×360: medium cam, comfortable for showing more context
• 960×540: large cam, half a 1080p scene

Tip

After resizing, you may need to update the Window Capture source in OBS so the new dimensions fit your scene correctly.

Magnification Level

How much the area around the cursor is enlarged inside the panel.

• Range: configured by the underlying magnification engine (typically 1.0× – 8.0×)
• Default: 1.5×
• Lower values (1.25×–2×) preserve more surrounding context, good for general streams.
• Higher values (3×–6×) zoom hard onto small UI details, good for showing tiny icons or small text.

Panel Shape

Shape	Description
Rectangular	Standard rectangle matching the configured Width × Height (default, recommended for OBS scenes).
Circular	Circular lens cropped within the panel bounds.

Rectangular is the safer pick for OBS because it fills the captured region edge-to-edge.

Border

Optional outline drawn around the panel.

• Show Border: toggle the border on or off. Default: On.
• Border Thickness: 1 – 10 px. Default: 2 px.
• Border Opacity: 0% – 100%. Default: 80%. Lower values produce a soft, subtle outline; higher values produce a strong frame.

Position

The Creator Box remembers its on-screen position between sessions. To move it, simply drag the panel to a new location while it’s visible. The new coordinates are saved automatically.

Activation Mode

The Creator Box activation shortcut supports both Toggle mode (press to flip on/off, default) and Hold mode (active only while held). Switch modes via the ComboBox next to the activation shortcut on the settings page. See Activation Mode for the full explanation.

Profile Round-Trip

All Creator Box settings (except the activation shortcut, which is global) are saved as part of the active profile. This includes panel position, size, magnification, shape, and border settings, so switching between profiles can completely reconfigure your cursor cam for different scenes or workflows.

Use Cases

• Coding streams: viewers can read tiny editor text without you having to crank the global font size.
• Tutorials and screencasts: keep a permanent cursor cam in a corner of the recording so viewers can always follow what’s being clicked.
• Pair programming and code reviews: make it obvious where your attention is on a busy screen.
• App demos: highlight UI details without zooming the whole display every time.

Learn More

• Activation Mode: Toggle vs. Hold behavior
• Keyboard Shortcuts: customize the activation shortcut