There is a 'WindowButtonMotionFcn' for figures, if you combine this with some logic you can change the pointer when you are over a certain UIPANEL; see the following example:
function example1
% Create the figure and define the "MouseMove" Callback
f = figure('WindowButtonMotionFcn',@MoveCallback);
% Define where to place your UIPANEL
up.x = 50;
up.y = 150;
up.width = 100;
up.height = 200;
% Create the UIPANEL
up.handle = uipanel(f,'Units','Pixels','Position',[up.x up.y up.width up.height])
function MoveCallback(source, event)
% Get the current position of your mouse pointer
p = get(f,'CurrentPoint');
% Check if the mouse is currently over the UIPANEL
if (p(1) > up.x) && (p(1) < up.x + up.width) ...
&& (p(2) > up.y) && (p(2) < up.y + up.height)
% If so change the pointer
set(f,'Pointer','circle')
else
% Otherwise set/keep the default arrow pointer
set(f,'Pointer','arrow')
end
end
end
