Universal Design Icon Changing the mouse tracking speed in Macintosh

Why change the mouse tracking speed?

On your Macintosh computer, you can decide how fast the mouse pointer on the screen should move for a given motion with the actual mouse. This can be helpful if you have limited or uncontrolled hand movements. It is also recommended if you use Close View for screen magnification.

There are no keyboard shortcuts for this operation. You will need to use the mouse.

Changing the mouse tracking speed

Note that on the Macintosh keyboard, the Command key is the one with the picture of the apple on it.

  1. Bring up the Mouse window. You can do this with the mouse, which is the easiest option, but it is also possible to do this using only the keyboard.
  2. Select the mouse speed you want. If you are using Close View to magnify the screen to three times its original size or more, you should probably choose the Very Slow option, which has a picture of a light pen above it. If you are using Close View to magnify the screen to twice its original size, the slowest regular option will probably do. If you do not like the result, you can simply choose another speed.
  3. When you are satisfied with your mouse tracking speed, hit Command + w to close the Mouse window. If you opened this window using the keyboard, the focus will switch to the Control Panel. You can continue using Command + w to close windows until all of the desired windows are closed.

Open the Mouse window using the mouse

  1. Choose the apple menu in the upper left corner of your screen.
  2. Select the Control Panel.
  3. Choose Mouse from the Control Panel submenu.
  4. Go back to step 1 above.

Open the Mouse window using the keyboard only

  1. Move the focus to the desktop. You should be able to do this using Command + d, but it does not always work.
  2. Hit Tab until the focus is on the hard drive.
  3. Press Command + o to open the hard drive.
  4. Hit s and then Tab until the focus is on the system folder.
  5. Press Command + o to open the system folder.
  6. Hit c and then Tab until the focus is on the control panel.
  7. Press Command + o to open the control panel.
  8. Hit m and then Tab until the focus is on the Mouse icon.
  9. Press Command + o to open Mouse.
  10. Go back to step 1 above.

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