Sometimes, though it's not a common situation, we need to use a sort of virtual mouse on the Mac. One that doesn't depend on an actual mouse or a trackpad. And something we might want to do regularly with it is right-click or secondary click. This is necessary for certain situations. Let's see how to do it.
How to Use Mouse Keys for a Mouseless Experience
The situation is as follows. We're on an iMac, for example, and our Bluetooth mouse battery dies. How do we use the Mac? How do we navigate to finish a task or reconnect the mouse to the computer if it doesn't recognize it after charging?
This is where the Mouse Keys system comes into play. With it, we can use the keys 7, 8, 9, u, o, j, k, and l to move the mouse around the screen. Activating Mouse Keys is as easy as following these steps:
- Select System Settings from the Apple menu ().
- Go to Accessibility.
- Enter Pointer Control.
- Choose Alternative Control Methods.
- Activate the Mouse Keys option.
Right-clicking or secondary clicking is essential in many tasks, like reconnecting a mouse when its battery runs out. To make a secondary click, simply place the cursor where we want with the keyboard, hold down the Control (⌃) key, and press the letter "i".
If pressing "i" without Control would make a click, with this combination of keys we emulate the function of the right click in macOS. This is very useful when navigating certain menus and options in a time of need.
On computers where all our accessories are Bluetooth, Mouse Keys is a feature extremely useful in various situations. Although it is neither widely known nor is it common to know how to make a secondary click with it, this is a simple resource that can be of great help in critical moments. When we need it, we just have to activate it and know that we can move it as if we were using our trusted mouse or trackpad.
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