How to Adjust Mouse Behavior on Windows OS

Adjusting your mouse for the easiest use is essential to getting the most productivity out of your computer time. Here are some ways to adjust mouse behavior to give you the best results.

Things You'll Need

• Computer running a Windows OS
• mouse

Instructions

1. Open the Control Panel on your computer. Find the icon labeled "Mouse" and double-click on it. Click on the tab labeled "Pointer Options."

2. Use the Motion section to adjust the pointer-speed slider, depending on how far you want to have to move the mouse compared to how far the pointer moves. Slower settings mean you have to move the mouse farther across the physical surface it is resting on.

3. Check the "Enhanced Pointer Precision" box for better control when making small mouse movements. The mouse will stop more precisely this way.

4. Check the "Snap To Section" box to cause the mouse pointer to jump to the default button when a dialog box pops up on the screen. This saves time in most computing sessions.

5. Check the "Display Pointer Trails" box in the Visibility section to cause the on-screen mouse cursor to display residual cursors as it moves. This makes it harder to lose the cursor, especially when making rapid movements of the mouse. The slider allows you to determine how long the residual trail will be.

6. Click the "Hide Pointer While Typing" box so that the cursor will not interfere with your view when you are typing a document. This will improve productivity and accuracy when you're working with text files and other documents.

7. Click the "Show Location of Pointer When I Press the CTRL Key" button. This will show you where the cursor is when you've lost track of it--a surprisingly common problem, especially when you're working with a large screen and multiple open windows.