You use your cursor to navigate everywhere on your computer, but do you know how much you can customize it? It's simple to change everything from its speed, look and function, so we're going to show you how.

There's so much you do in Windows 10 to adjust your mouse, but some of the settings are tucked away. We'll go through everything in turn so that you can perfect your mouse and have it moving and looking exactly how you want.

If you have your own mouse customization tips to share, let us know in the comments below.

Basic Mouse Settings

The Windows 10 Settings area is constantly changing, with Microsoft eventually aiming to ditch the Control Panel entirely. Until that time, the mouse settings are split between two areas.

Press Windows key + I to open Settings and navigate to Devices > Mouse. This is where you'll find some basic mouse customization.

Use the Select your primary button dropdown to switch between Left and Right. The former is standard, but you may find it helpful switching to the latter if you use the mouse in your left hand.

how to customize mouse in windows 10

The Roll the mouse wheel to scroll dropdown lets you choose how your windows behave when you scroll the mouse. Multiple lines at the time is the default setting, but you can change it to One screen at a time if desired.

If you selected multiple lines, you can use the slider beneath to determine how many lines are scrolled each time. The farther to the left the slider is, the fewer lines your mouse will scroll at once.

Finally, Scroll inactive windows when I hover them is an On/Off switch. If enabled, you only need to hover over a window to be able to scroll, rather than clicking them first.

Advanced Mouse Settings

To access the advanced mouse settings, click Additional mouse options. This will open a separate window. Each section below refers to a different tab in that window.

Buttons

The first section here, Button configuration, is the same as the Select your primary button option found on the Settings screen.

how to customize mouse in windows 10

Double-click speed lets you adjust how quickly you need to double-click your mouse for it to be recognized as a single action. Adjust the Speed slider and use the folder icon to test it out.

ClickLock is a feature which enables you to highlight or drag (for example, selecting multiple files or moving a desktop icon) without holding down the mouse button. If you choose to Turn on ClickLock, you'll only need to briefly press the mouse button, with another click releasing it. Once enabled, click Settings... to adjust how long that mouse click has to be before it's registered as a ClickLock.

Pointers

Here you can change the visual style of your cursor and its various different states.

The Schemes dropdown gives you the ability to change the entire cursor set at once. The default schemes available include black, inverted, and standard, across a variety of different sizes. The box to the right gives you a preview of what this scheme looks like.

how to customize mouse in windows 10

Alternatively or additionally, you can use the Customize section to change specific states. Select it from the list, click Browse... and find the .ANI (animated) or .CUR (static) file you want to replace it with. Once chosen, click Open.

Check out the Open Cursor Library for loads of different free cursors. All you need to do is download them and then use the above instructions to locate them on your system.

Pointer Options

Use Select a pointer speed to change how quickly your cursor moves across the screen.

You might be tempted to click to enable Enhance pointer precision, but take a pause. This adjusts how far your cursor moves depending on how quickly you move it. It's good if you have a mouse with a bad sensor, but is less useful for if you want your mouse movements to always be the same (like if you're playing high precision games).

The Snap To option will automatically move your cursor to the default button (like OK or Apply) when a dialog box opens.

how to customize mouse in windows 10

Tick Display pointer trails if you want your cursor to duplicate itself as you move it. Use the slider beneath to adjust how short or long the trail should be.

Finally, you can tick to Hide pointer while typing and Show location of pointer when I press the Ctrl key. This latter option is useful if you struggle to find your cursor, perhaps due to eyesight or monitor size.

Wheel

The Vertical Scrolling section customizing the same thing as in the Settings section, but here you can define the specific number of lines that are scrolled, rather than using a slider.

how to customize mouse in windows 10

You can also do a similar thing for Horizontal Scrolling and set how many characters you want to be scrolled when you move the wheel horizontally.

Hardware

This final section shows you what devices you have installed. This is more informational than anything, though you can double click each device to open its properties.

how to customize mouse in windows 10

Here you will see the status of the device, along with the date and version of the drive you have installed. This can be helpful if you need to troubleshoot your mouse, like if you need to update or roll back the driver.

Ease of Access

Press Windows key + I and go to Ease of Access > Mouse. Here you will find some options to make seeing and using the mouse easier if you struggle with the defaults.

Similar to the schemes detailed previously, here you can change the Pointer size and Pointer color between three options.

how to customize mouse in windows 10

The Mouse buttons section gives you the option to Use numeric keypad to move mouse around the screen. This turns each number on the pad into a direction. For example, 8 is up and 2 is down.

I would suggest enabling Hold down Ctrl to speed up and Shift to slow down. This gives you greater control and is especially helpful since the default speed is often too slow.

Finally, Use mouse keys when Num Lock is on will toggle whether this feature activates when your Num Lock is on or off.

The House of Mouse

Hopefully, you've learned something new about how to customize your mouse on Windows 10 and it's now looking and feeling perfect. As Windows is an ever-evolving operating system, you may find that some of the advanced features outlined above will eventually be wrapped into Settings.

If you need you're looking for technical support for your mouse, see our guide on fixing Windows 10 mouse issues. Alternatively, if a normal mouse isn't suitable for you, see our article on the top mouse alternatives.

Which of these mouse customizations has been most useful for you? Do you have your own to share?