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< Move the mouse cursor with keyboard >

You can use your keyboard for moving the mouse cursor in the X Window System. This means you can use the mouse without touching it at all!

Author: Nana Långstedt < nana.langstedt at gmail.com >
tuXfile created: 11 February 2003
Last modified: 22 September 2005

< Moving the cursor >

Of course you must have the X Window System running first... Then press Shift + NumLock to turn the feature on.

Move the mouse using the 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 keys in your number pad. Take a look at your number pad, and you'll quite quickly figure out which key moves the mouse in which direction.

< Clicking >

Click by hitting the 5 key on your number pad. Double click by hitting it twice.

Click and hold by hitting the 0 key. To release, hit 5.

By default, hitting the 5 key will do a left click. You can select what button to click with the /, *, and - keys on your number pad:
/ Left click
* Middle click
- Right click

Note that these just select the mouse button. You still need to use 5 to click it.

Ok, "left click" is a bad term because you can configure your mouse the way you want, but by "left click" I mean "the mouse behavior that occurs when most people using right-handed mouse click the left button." You know what I mean, let's not pick the nits here.

< Turning the mouse feature off >

Press Shift + NumLock again to turn this feature off.


Linux help > X Window System > Move the mouse cursor with keyboard


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