Use a Keyboard to Click Instead of a Mouse

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If your mouse isn't working, you can use your keyboard to move the cursor and click objects. While there are keyboard commands to select and open this, you can also use the accessibility tools for your operating system to allow you to move the cursor with keys. This can be very useful if you mouse is broken or you can't physically move the mouse.

Steps

Windows

  1. Open the Control Panel and select "Ease of Access Center." You can open the Control Panel from the Start menu.
    • If you don't have a working mouse and need to open these options, press ⊞ Win and type "ease of access." Select "Ease of Access Center" from the list of search results with your arrow keys and press ↵ Enter.
  2. Select "Make the mouse easier to use." This will open the mouse accessibility options.
    • If you don't have a working mouse, press Tab ↹ until you've selected "Make the mouse easier to use" and then press ↵ Enter.
  3. Check the "Turn on Mouse Keys" box. This will enable you to use the numeric pad on your keyboard to work as a mouse. You'll see the Mouse Keys icon in your System Tray. You can also press Alt+⇧ Shift+Num ⇩ to enable this feature from anywhere in Windows.
    • If you don't have a numeric pad on your keyboard, see the last step in this section.
  4. Ensure Num Lock is enabled. By default, Num Lock will need to be turned on in order for Mouse Keys to work.
  5. Move the cursor around using the numeric pad. Once Mouse Keys has been turned on, you can move the cursor up, down, left, and right by pressing 8, 2, 4, and 6, respectively. You have to use the numeric pad, not the row of numbers along the top of the keyboard.
    • You can move the cursor diagonally by pressing 7, 9, 1, and 3.
  6. Press .5 to left-click. This will emulate a single left-button mouse click.
  7. Press .+ to double-click. This will perform a double-click, which will launch programs and open files and folders.
  8. Press .- then 5 to right-click. This will right-click whatever your cursor is over, opening the right-click menu. You'll need to press / to turn off right-click mode.[1]
  9. Navigate without a numeric pad. If you don't have a numeric pad on your keyboard, you can still navigate without a mouse. Below are a few of the more useful keyboard commands that can help you navigate.
    • Alt+Tab ↹ allows you to switch between open Windows.
    • Tab ↹ allows you to cycle through the different options from menus.
    • ↵ Enter will open most things that you select with your arrow keys.
    • ⇧ Shift+F10 will open the right-click menu for whatever is selected.

Mac

  1. Open the Apple menu and select System Preferences. You can enable a feature called Mouse Keys, which will allow you to use your keyboard like a mouse. You can do this from the System Preferences menu.
  2. Select "Accessibility," then "Mouse & Trackpad." This will allow you to adjust your mouse accessibility options.
  3. Enable "Mouse Keys" in the menu. This will turn the Mouse Keys function on.
    • If you don't have a working mouse, you can quickly enable Mouse Keys by pressing ⌥ Option+⌘ Command+F5.
  4. Use the numeric pad or your keyboard to move the cursor. OS X allows you to move the cursor using either your numeric pad, or with a set of letters and numbers from the alphanumeric keyboard.
    • Numeric pad - Move the cursor up, down, left, and right by pressing 8, 2, 4, and 6, respectively. You can move the cursor diagonally by pressing 7, 9, 1, and 3.
    • Keyboard - Move the cursor up, down, left, and right by pressing 8, K, U, O, respectively. You can move the cursor diagonally by pressing 7, 9, J, and L.
  5. Press .5 or I to click. The key depends on what method you are using to move the cursor.
    • Hold Ctrl and press the key to right-click.
  6. Press .0 or M to click and hold. This will allow you to drag objects with the cursor.
  7. Press .. to release the mouse button. This will allow you to drop whatever you are dragging.
  8. Turn off Mouse Keys to resume typing. You cannot type when Mouse Keys is enabled. Quickly toggle it off by pressing ⌥ Option+⌘ Command+F5.[2]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/access_mousekeys_howtoclick.mspx?mfr=true
  2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/kb/PH18381?locale=en_US
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