Mouse Keys is a free Windows accessibility feature. It lets you use the numeric keypad on the right of your keyboard to move the mouse pointer around the screen.
How Mouse Keys works
You can use the numeric keypad to move the mouse. You can turn on Mouse Keys by pressing Left Shift + Left Alt and Numlock together.
| Up Down Right Left Up and left Down and left Up and right Down and right | 8 2 6 4 7 1 9 3 |
The number 5 in the middle of the numeric keypad is the mouse button. Before you use it you need to tell Windows whether you want this to be a left button or a right button
| Set 5 as the left mouse button Set 5 as the right mouse button | Forward slash (/) Minus sign (-) |
After you choose a button, you can click items on your screen.
| Click Double-click | 5 Plus sign (+) |
The zero (0) key toggles on the left mouse button to allow you to drag items on the screen without trying to keep you hand on the 5. The decimal point (.) button releases the left button.
Enabling Mouse Keys
You can press Left Shift + Left Alt and Numlock keys together to toggle Mouse Keys on and off.
Changing Mouse Keys settings
You can use Windows’ accessibility settings to turn Mouse Keys on and off without the keyboard shortcut, or to change any the Mouse Keys options.
In Windows 8 hold the Windows Key and W and then type Mouse Works before selecting “Change how your mouse works.”
In Windows Vista and Windows 7 click on the start button, type Mouse Keys into the search box and press Enter.
Tick the box next to “Turn on Mouse Keys” when the Make the keyboard easier to use dialog appears.
You can adjust the speed and acceleration of the the pointer cursor which is important if you find Mouse Keys slow or inaccurate.
BigKeys Keyboard
If you are using a BigKeys Keyboard it is possible to enable Mouse Keys using the large arrow keys on the right side of the keyboard.
Laptops and Mouse Keys
Few laptops have numeric keypads so if you want to use Mouse Keys with a laptop you will need to buy a separate USB numeric keypad to plug in. This will also be the case where you are using some compact keyboards.
