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The latest PowerToys gives your mouse 2 new tricks for free – how to use them
PowerToys is one of my favorite free Windows utilities. With more than 30 tools, it offers something for everyone from beginners to power users. Here's what's new for mousing.
Ever have trouble using your mouse? Sometimes selecting a large block of text proves to be a challenge. Other times, your mouse cursor may get in the way of what you’re trying to type or see. Now Microsoft can help you resolve both issues via the latest version of its free PowerToys utility.
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Popping up in the official release of PowerToys version 0.102 are two new tools for you to mouse around with. One is called Mouse Button Lock, while the other is known as CursorHide. I’ll explain how to use each one. But to try them yourself, you’ll first need to install or update PowerToys.
To install the program from scratch, go to the PowerToys Microsoft Store page and click the Download button. Or, you can head to the PowerToys GitHub page and click the correct exe file for your flavor of Windows. To update an existing installation, open PowerToys from the Start menu or the System Tray and click the button to check for updates or select the notice to grab the latest version.
With PowerToys running, select the category for Input & Output on the left and click Mouse Utilities. You can then check out the details on both Mouse Button Lock and CursorHide and turn on the switches for either or both. Now here’s how they work.
Selecting a block of text normally requires that you hold down your left mouse button for the entire process. But if you’re trying to select a long block that extends to multiple sections or pages, that maneuver can be tricky.
With Mouse Button Lock, you’re able to hold down a mouse button for a second or two and then release it. You then move your mouse toward the end of the block you wish to select, and the text is automatically selected along the way. Then just click your mouse button again to stop the selection.
This capability has already been available through the ClickLock setting built into Windows. To access this with or without PowerToys, go to Settings and select Accessibility. Scroll down to the screen to the Interaction section and select the option for Mouse. Click the setting for ClickLock. You can then turn it on and set the duration in seconds to determine how long you must hold down your left mouse button to activate it.
If this functionality is already built into Windows, why enable it in PowerToys? The PowerToys flavor is much more versatile. You can choose the left, right, or middle mouse button as the trigger. You can also set the duration more precisely in miliseconds. Plus, you’re able to choose the distance in pixels during which your selection will remain. On my end, I chose the right mouse button, set the duration to 1,500 ms (1.5 seconds), and increased the distance to 100 pixels.