Microsoft includes a feature in Windows that many people would love to use … if they knew about it. It’s the ability to completely control your mouse using only the keyboard, but since it is buried in the Accessibility Options a lot of people never know it’s there.
The feature is called MouseKeys, and once enabled you’ll be able to fully control your mouse using the number pad on your keyboard. One of the reasons that I use this from time to time is to move the mouse more precisely, which is extremely handy when doing graphics work.
So how do you enable the feature? Here are the steps needed for both Vista and XP…
Vista:
- Open up the Control Panel and type MouseKeys into the search box. Click on the option that says Move the pointer with the keypad using MouseKeys.
- Check the corresponding box to turn on MouseKeys. For more advanced options (pictured to the right) you can click the Set up MouseKeys located underneath the checkbox.
XP:
- Open the Control Panel, and click Accessibility Options.
- Select the Mouse tab, and check the Use MouseKeys box to turn the feature on. For more advanced options you can click Settings.
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Tags: Helpful Tips, Software, Windows, How To, Keyboard Shortcuts, Settings
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XP
Press Shift key x5 times to access Sticky Keys dialog box.
You won’t believe it! Way back in 1999, I operated my PC only using keyboard for full 3 months. My mouse port had some issues
Actually, I believe that this feature has been around since Windows 95! Strange how it got so little coverage in tech magazines and on blogs…
I’m a little confused as to what Stick Keys has to do with this?
Now that is one of the craziest things I’ve heard. I enjoy being able to get around my computer without using my mouse all that much, but not having access to it completely is nuts.
I’m pretty sure that this feature has been around since 95 as well, considering that most of the Accessibility features haven’t changed that much since then.
For KDE users of Linux. You can press alt+f12 to achieve the same functionality.
You must be using a different version of Vista then I am, I’m using Premium.
A search for mousekeys did not turn up anything.
It’s an accessibility option, so it will be included in all versions of Windows. Just make sure you are performing a search IN THE CONTROL PANEL, because just searching from the Start Menu will not pull up any results.
How do you perform a search in the control panel? control f doesn’t work in control panel. I don’t see any search option in control panel.
If you open the Control Panel in Vista you can perform a search in the upper-right corner.