In this Windows Tutorial, you will learn about the other great feature of Accessibility Options, which is Mouse Keys. With Mouse Keys, you can use the Numeric Keypad of your key board to move the mouse pointer, instead of the computer mouse. People, who have difficulty holding the computer mouse with their hand, or in an emergency situation if your mouse is not working, then you take the advantage of using Mouse Keys.
To Turn On Mouse Keys, open “Control Panel”, and then click on “Ease of Access Center”, assuming you are viewing Control Panel in Large Icons view. Under “Ease of Access Center”, you can access the “Mouse Keys” settings either through “Make the mouse easier to use” or, “Make the keyboard easier to use” link.
To instantly turn on Mouse Keys, make a check mark on “Turn on Mouse Keys” option. Before you apply the changes, let’s first learn about some other additional settings of Mouse Keys, so you can configure it according to your preferences. The first option in the Mouse Keys settings is the keyboard shortcut to turn on or off the Mouse Keys. By default this option is checked, and you can turn on or off Mouse Keys using, Left ALT + Left Shift + NUM Lock keys, whenever required, and you don’t have to come a long way to turn on or off the Mouse Keys.
The next options in the Mouse Keys is, if you want to see a “Warning Message” when turning a setting on or off through Keyboard Shortcut. You can also configure to listen to a sound when Mouse Keys get turned on or off.
To check all these settings, let’s first apply the changes, and do note down, I am not turning on the Mouse Keys through Ease of Access Center. Now, whenever you require the Mouse Keys option, then hold down the Left ALT & Left Shift Keys, and then press the NUM Lock key. This is a short way to turn on or off the Mouse Keys. As soon as I pressed these key combinations, a warning message appear, displaying you a notification about either you want to turn on the Mouse Keys or not, and you also hear a short sound. Click Yes to turn on the Mouse Keys. You will see Mouse Keys icon in the Notification Area, which indicates that Mouse Keys is running now.
After you turn on Mouse Keys, you can use the Numeric Keypad to move the mouse. Let’s learn how to control the mouse with the keyboard.
To move the mouse “UP”, press 8.
To move the mouse “DOWN”, press 2.
To move the mouse “LEFT”, press 4.
To move the mouse “RIGHT”, press 6.
To move the mouse “UP and to the LEFT”, press 7.
To move the mouse “UP and to the RIGHT”, press 9.
To move the mouse “DOWN and to the LEFT”, press 1.
To move the mouse “DOWN and to the RIGHT”, press 3.
The next thing you should consider while using mouse key is, Selecting a mouse button. To click an item on your screen, you first select which mouse button you want to be the active button. By default, the left button is the active button, and the left button in the Mouse Keys icon in the notification area, is filled with color, indicating as an active button. Sometimes, you need to right-click on an item, or have to use both mouse buttons.
To select the right mouse button, press the minus sign.
To select both buttons, press Asterisk.
To select the left mouse button, press forward slash.
After you select a mouse button, you don’t need to select a mouse button again, until you want to change the buttons. After you choose a button, you can click items on your screen.
To click an item, with the left button selected as your active button, point to the item, and the press 5.
To right-click an item, with the right button selected as your active button, point to the item, and then press 5.
To double-click an item, with the left button select as your active button, point to the item, and then press the plus sign.
You can also drag and drop items using the Mouse Keys. You can use the Numeric Keypad to press and hold the active mouse button and to release it. This is helpful if you want to drag an item.
To drag an item, point to the item, and press the 0. To drop an item, point to the location where you want to move the item, and the press the decimal point.
There are a few more settings that you can configure while using Mouse Keys. Like, if you want to control how quickly the mouse pointer moves or do you want to see the Mouse Keys icon in the notification area.
To configure those settings, either go the Ease of Access Center in Control Panel, or just double-click the icon in the notification area. Under Pointer Speed options, you can increase the Speed & Acceleration of the Mouse Keys, and then Mouse Keys speed will interact according to your settings. You can also make a check mark on “Hold down CONTROL to speed up and SHIFT to slow down” option. This option is very much helpful. If you want to quickly move the mouse pointer then, hold down the CONTROL key and use the arrow keys. Your mouse pointer will start jumping from one location to another, and if you are creating a drawing object or something, using Mouse Keys, then you can slow down the speed by holding the SHIFT key.
So, this was all about Mouse Keys. On a very precious time, your Computer Mouse stopped working, then just press the Left Alter + Left Shift + NUM LOCK key to quickly turn on the Mouse Keys, and save the hassle and time of replacing the computer mouse.
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