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How To Use Mouse Keys in Windows? A Complete Guide

How To Use Mouse Keys in Windows

Introduction and Why You Need To Use Mouse Keys

Is it possible to use a Computer Without a Mouse and still accomplish most of the day-to-day tasks using Mouse Keys in Windows alone? That day, when you were in a hurry and all of a sudden you find out that the Mouse is not working anymore or you might be troubleshooting a Desktop PC without attaching a Mouse in the first place or the Touch-pad of your Notebook/Laptop doesn’t work anymore and you have something very urgent to do!

When you need to use a Computer without a Mouse then it is certain that you can’t accomplish all of the tasks using the Keyboard Shortcuts alone. Like, I can’t access all the features of this WordPress Dashboard while writing this blog post using the keyboard shortcuts alone and I’ve to move the Mouse Pointer, need Left/Right click on certain elements, and Drag-n-Drop objects, which is not possible through shortcuts alone.

I’m using Mouse Keys since Windows 97 and in my personal experience, you can’t always access and use all the Buttons/Commands of Windows, other Applications, or dialog/pop-up boxes using the Keyboard Shortcuts alone.

A combination of both the Mouse Keys and Keyboard Shortcut can make you a Master of Using Computer Without Mouse!

Understanding and Configuring Mouse Keys Settings

Mouse Keys dialog-box when Left Shift+Left ALT+Num Lock is pressed.
Figure 1.1

Basically, you have 3 different choices in the Mouse Keys pop-up box: Yes, No, or Disable this keyboard shortcut in the Ease of Access Center Control Panel.

In Figure 1.1, you will find that default selected button is Yes and hitting the Enter or Space key will immediately Turn On the Mouse Keys feature with the Default Settings.

So, Left SHIFT+Left ALT+Num Lock and hitting Enter Key is the shortest way to Turn On Mouse Keys.
Figure 1.2

You should configure the options first before turning on the Mouse Keys and here are some Best Mouse Key Settings for you! Watch the following short video to know how to enable/disable Mouse Keys options using the keyboard alone.

https://www.theteacherpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Mouse-Keys-Settings-in-Microsoft-Windows.mp4

Mouse Keys Settings

Pointer Speed:

Num Lock Settings:

Use Mouse Keys when NUM LOCK is Off:

If you will set “Use Mouse Keys when NUM LOCK is to ON” then you will not be able to type numerical keys with NUM PAD as they now will be used for Mouse Key movements and other actions.

Display the Mouse Keys icon on the taskbar:

Turn on Mouse Keys with left ALT + left SHIFT + NUM LOCK

Keep in mind, disabling this shortcut will not let you turn on / off the Mouse Keys using shortcut the next time and you have to move to the Control Panel – Ease of Access Center to access the settings or use the Start Search.

Display a warning message when turning a setting on:

Make a sound when turning a setting on or off:

Mouse Keys Shortcuts

0 represents INS key, DOT (.) represents Delete Key, 1 as End Key, 2 for Down Arrow, 3 for Page Down, 4 Left Arrow, 5 alone, 6 Right Arrow, 7 as Home Key, 8 for Up movement, and 9 for Page Up.

Figure 1.3

Most importantly, the 0 Key (aka Ins) can be used to Hold an item, just like holding the Left Mouse Button, and then the . (dot aka Del Key) can be used to Drop an item.

The Active Mouse Button and Right-clicking using Mouse Keys?

When you Turn On Mouse Keys and the “Display the Mouse Keys icon on the taskbar” option is checked then you will see an icon in the System Tray with Left Mouse Button highlighted with Grey Colour. The Left-click will be the default Active Button when you turn on Mouse Keys.

Figure 1.4

Conclusion?

You only need to configure all these settings once and you can watch the following short video to see how to use Mouse Keys from a keyboard. I am using Mouse Keys since Windows 95 and found it useful thousands of time when you urgently needs to use a computer without a mouse.

Watch How To Use Mouse Keys in Windows Tutorial

How to Use Mouse Keys in Microsoft Windows Tutorial
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