Operating Your Mouse from the Numberpad

It is possible to use the numeric keypad to control your mouse.

To turn MouseKeys on:

• Click the Start button or press Ctrl + Escape to display the Start menu.
• Click on Settings or press S until settings is highlighted and press Enter.
• Click on Control Panel or press C until Control Panel is highlighted and press Enter.
• Double click on Accessibility or press A until accessibility is highlighted and press Enter to display the accessibility options dialog box. Hint: If you cannot see the accessibility option, you may need to view the Control Panel in Classic view, not category view. To do this:
  • Click on the Mouse tab, or press Ctrl + Tab until the mouse tab is at the front. (see fig. 1).
    

    
    Fig 1

  • Click the checkbox marked Use Mousekeys or press Alt + M to turn mousekeys on.
  • Click OK or press Enter to return to Windows.
• You should be able to use the number pad on your keyboard to control the mouse cursor. See Fig. 2 for a description of which keys do what.
  

  
  Fig 2

Changing mousekeys settings

Here are some instructions for changing the settings for Mousekeys.

• Click the Start menu button or press Ctrl + Escape to display the Start menu.
• Click on Settings or press S.
• Click on Control Panel or press C.
• Double click on Accessibility Options or press the A key repeatedly until Accessibility Options is highlighted and then
• Click on the Settings button or press Alt + S to display the settings dialog box (see fig. 3)
  

  
  Fig 3

Use Shortcut

If this option is selected, then Mousekeys can be activated by pressing the key combination Left Alt + Left Shift + Num Lock. If you are using only one finger, a mouthstick, or a headpointer to operate the computer, the easiest way to activate MouseKeys is to first activate StickyKeys by tapping either SHIFT key five times. You can then press the three keys in sequence rather than simultaneously.

• Check this option by clicking in the Use Shortcut check box or pressing Alt + U to check this check box.
• Click OK or press Enter to return to the Accessibility options.

Pointer Speed: Top Speed

Specifies the maximum speed at which the mouse pointer moves when you hold down a MouseKeys direction key.

• Use the mouse to click on and drag the slider to where you want it, or press Alt + T to select the the Top Speed slider bar and then use the left or right arrow keys to adjust the slider position. Click OK or press Enter to return to the Accessibility options.

Pointer Speed: Acceleration

Specifies how quickly the mouse pointer accelerates to its maximum speed when you hold down a MouseKeys direction key.

• Use the mouse to click on and drag the slider to where you want it, or press Alt + A to select the the Top Speed slider bar and then use the left or right arrow keys to adjust the slider position. Click OK or press Enter to return to the Accessibility options.

Hold down Ctrl to speed up and Shift to slow down.

Specifies that you can use the Shift and Ctrl keys to temporarily slow down or speed up mouse pointer movement when you are using MouseKeys. To move the pointer slowly, hold down the Shift key while you press the MouseKeys direction keys. To move the pointer slowly, hold down the Ctrl key while you press the MouseKeys direction keys.

• Click in this box or press Alt + H to check this box.

Use mousekeys when numlock is on\off

Specifies whether the Num Lock setting must be on or off for the numeric keypad to function as MouseKeys. This enables you to switch between MouseKeys and standard keypad operation by pressing Num Lock.

If you also want to use the numeric keypad for data entry click OFF, If you use the numeric keypad for navigation and for the INS and DEL keys, click ON.

• Click in the on or off box to set this option, or press Alt + N to set the option to On or press Alt + F to set the option to Off

Show mousekey status on screen

Displays a status indicator for Mousekeys on the taskbar.

Click in this box to check it, or press Alt + S to check the box.

Note: If SIowKeys is active, all the MouseKeys control keys respond according to the acceptance delay set for SIowKeys.

Note: If the MouseKeys feature is on but NUM LOCK is toggled to the opposite setting, the MouseKeys icon in the taskbar shows that MouseKeys is disabled.

For example, if you were using the numeric keypad for number entry before starting MouseKeys, when you toggle out of MouseKeys by using the NUM LOCK key, you can enter numbers with the numeric keypad. If you were using the numeric keypad as a cursor keypad before starting MouseKeys, when you toggle out of MouseKeys by using the NUM LOCK key, you will have a cursor keypad.

It can be useful to combine use of MouseKeys and a physical mouse. For example, you can use the standard mouse to move quickly around the screen, and then use MouseKeys to move more precisely (unit by unit) to your final destination. Some people cannot use the standard mouse while simultaneously holding down the mouse button, so you can use MouseKeys to lock down the currently active mouse button, then move the mouse cursor by using MouseKeys or the real mouse, and then release the mouse button by using MouseKeys.