Mouse Keys Numpad Map Move Click and Right Click Keys
Mouse Keys is switched on, you press a few keys, and the pointer wanders while menus open at the wrong moment. Nothing is broken. You are missing the map - which key moves, which key clicks, and which key decides what a click means.
Print this map in your memory with one picture. The numpad is a small compass with a button in the middle. Everything around key 5 points where it sits, and key 5 itself is the click. Three symbol keys above the numbers - slash, star and minus - choose which mouse button you are holding in your hand. Once that clicks in your mind, Mouse Keys stops feeling random. This page covers every key honestly, including the two keys people misuse most - the drag lock key 0 and the drop key, the numpad dot. Keep a working mouse nearby for your first practice if you can. Ten unhurried minutes moving around the desktop, opening one folder and right clicking once, teaches more than re-reading any list.
The complete movement map - eight directions around the click key in the centre
The Eight Direction Keys
Movement copies the layout of the pad exactly.
- 8 up, 2 down, 4 left, 6 right
- 7 up and left, 9 up and right
- 1 down and left, 3 down and right
- Hold a key to keep moving, release to stop, tap for one small step
Diagonal keys save real time on wide screens. Moving up then across then up again in a staircase works, but a held 9 takes you to the top right corner in one clean line.
Key 5 Clicks and Plus Double Clicks
The centre of the pad does the pressing.
- Press 5 once for a single click with the selected button
- Press + for a double click - opening folders and files
- There is no separate triple click key - press 5 three times quickly if an app needs it
If 5 seems to do nothing, check two things. Mouse Keys may be waiting on Num Lock, or the pointer may be sitting over something that does not respond to clicks, like empty desktop between icons. Move slightly and try on a clear button.
Slash Star and Minus Choose the Button
These three keys are the part nobody explains, and they cause most of the confusion.
- / selects the left button - the normal state, return here after right clicking
- - selects the right button - the next press of 5 opens the right click menu
- * selects both buttons together - a leftover from older software, almost never needed today
Think of it as picking up a different button before pressing. The selection stays until you change it, which is why one forgotten minus key can make every click look wrong for minutes.
Key 0 Holds and Dot Releases
Dragging uses two keys most guides rush past.
- Move onto a file, window title bar or slider
- Press 0 - this holds the selected button down, like keeping your finger on the mouse
- Move with the direction keys to the target
- Press . - the numpad decimal point - to release and drop
If an item seems glued to the pointer and follows you everywhere, you pressed 0 and never dropped. Press the dot once and it lets go. The full drag walkthrough lives in the drag and turn off page of this set.
The Keys That Do Not Move the Pointer
Honesty saves frustration here. The number row above the letters does nothing in Mouse Keys - only the numeric keypad works. The Enter key on the numpad still works as Enter, which is handy for confirming dialogs while your hand stays on the pad. And if your settings tie Mouse Keys to Num Lock, the whole pad flips between numbers and pointer control with that one key - a pad suddenly typing numbers into a document is telling you Num Lock changed, not that Mouse Keys broke.
Complete Video Guide
See Mouse Keys switched on and used live in the full video - the fastest way to learn the key positions by watching them pressed in order.
Watch Full VideoWhich numpad key is the right click in Mouse Keys
There is no single right click key. Press the minus key on the numpad to select the right button, then press 5 to click. Afterwards press the slash key to select the left button again, or every following click will keep behaving like a right click and opening menus.
Why does key 5 sometimes open menus instead of clicking
Because the right button is still selected from an earlier right click. Mouse Keys remembers your button choice until you change it. Press the slash key on the numpad to return to the left button, then press 5 again and it will click normally.
Can I move the pointer with the number keys above the letters
No. Mouse Keys only reads the numeric keypad on the right of a full keyboard, or a laptop Fn overlay that produces real numpad keys. The number row above the letters always types numbers. If you have no numpad at all, see the laptop guide in this set for what actually works.