Finding the Mouse Pointer

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 28, 2017)

1

I don't know about you, but as I get older it seems that it is harder and harder to locate the mouse pointer on the screen. It could be a symptom of aging eyes, but it could also be because with higher and higher resolutions for the screen, it can be pretty easy to "misplace" the location of the mouse pointer.

If you have this problem often, Windows provides a cool way to easily locate the mouse pointer location:

  1. Display the Control Panel. (How you do this varies based on the version of Windows you are using.)
  2. Click Hardware and Sound.
  3. Click Mouse. (This link is under the Devices and Printers section.) Windows displays the Mouse Properties dialog box.
  4. Make sure the Pointer Options tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)

    5. Figure 1. The Pointer Options tab of the Mouse Properties dialog box.

  5. Make sure the Show Location of Pointer When I Press CTRL Key check box is selected.
  6. Click OK.

That's it. Now, when you press the Ctrl key, by itself, Windows "zeroes in" on the location of the mouse pointer, and you can easily see that location.

 This tip (11252) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Extracting a Pattern from within Text

If you have a large amount of data in a worksheet and you want to extract information from the text that meets certain ...

Discover More

Setting the Calculation Default

Excel can recalculate your worksheets either automatically or manually. The default is to calculate them automatically, ...

Discover More

Adding Up Tops and Bottoms

When you are working with sequenced values in a list, you’ll often want to take some action based on the top X or ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Arranging Desktop Windows

Being able to effectively manage multiple windows is an important skill. This includes tiling and cascading them so you ...

Discover More

Regaining Control of Your System

The Windows Task Manager is a useful utility that provides information about what's running on your system. You can also ...

Discover More

Increasing the Number of Restore Points

You may feel constrained by the low number of restore points your system is keeping. You can increase the disk space ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is two less than 5?

2017-08-28 15:30:36

Lou Jones

On my computer (Windows 10) it's a little different: Only after I release the CTRL key does Windows "zero in" with a series of shrinking circles

Newest Tips
Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.