> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/microsoft/powertoys/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Find My Mouse

> Spotlight your mouse pointer with a visual effect when you need to locate it on screen

## Overview

Find My Mouse helps you quickly locate your mouse cursor by displaying a spotlight effect that makes it stand out on your screen. When activated, it creates a circular spotlight around your cursor with a customizable darkened overlay on the rest of the screen.

<Note>
  Find My Mouse is particularly useful on multi-monitor setups or when working with large displays where the cursor can be difficult to spot.
</Note>

## How to Activate

Find My Mouse can be triggered using one of three methods:

### 1. Keyboard Shortcut (Default)

Press the activation shortcut to display the spotlight effect:

* **Default shortcut:** <kbd>Win</kbd> + <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>F</kbd>
* Customizable in settings

### 2. Shake Mouse

Rapidly move your mouse back and forth to trigger the spotlight effect automatically.

### 3. Press Control Key

Quickly press the left or right Control key twice to activate the spotlight.

<Tip>
  Choose the activation method that works best for your workflow in the settings.
</Tip>

## Configuration Options

### Activation Settings

<ParamField path="activation_method" type="enum" default="Shortcut">
  Choose how to trigger Find My Mouse:

  * **Keyboard Shortcut:** Custom hotkey combination
  * **Shake Mouse:** Detect rapid mouse movement
  * **Press Left Ctrl Twice:** Double-tap left Control key
  * **Press Right Ctrl Twice:** Double-tap right Control key
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="activation_shortcut" type="hotkey" default="Win + Shift + F">
  Custom keyboard shortcut to activate Find My Mouse (when activation method is set to Keyboard Shortcut)
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="include_win_key" type="boolean" default="true">
  Require Windows key in the Control key double-press activation method
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="do_not_activate_on_game_mode" type="boolean" default="true">
  Prevent activation when Windows Game Mode is active
</ParamField>

### Appearance Settings

<ParamField path="background_color" type="color" default="#000000CC">
  Color of the darkened overlay outside the spotlight (supports ARGB with transparency)
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="spotlight_color" type="color" default="#FFFFFFFF">
  Border color of the spotlight circle (supports ARGB with transparency)
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="spotlight_radius" type="number" default="100">
  Radius of the spotlight circle in pixels (final size after animation)
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="spotlight_initial_zoom" type="number" default="90">
  Percentage of initial spotlight size before animation (used to create zoom effect)
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="animation_duration_ms" type="number" default="500">
  Duration of the spotlight appearance animation in milliseconds
</ParamField>

### Mouse Shake Detection Settings

<ParamField path="shaking_minimum_distance" type="number" default="1000">
  Minimum cursor travel distance in pixels to trigger shake detection
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="shaking_interval_ms" type="number" default="100">
  Time window in milliseconds for detecting shake movement
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="shaking_factor" type="number" default="2">
  Sensitivity multiplier for shake detection (higher = more sensitive)
</ParamField>

### Application Exclusions

<ParamField path="excluded_apps" type="string list">
  List of application names (one per line) where Find My Mouse should not activate. Useful for preventing conflicts with games or full-screen applications.

  Example:

  ```
  game.exe
  video_editor.exe
  presentation_software.exe
  ```
</ParamField>

## Use Cases

### Multi-Monitor Setups

When working with multiple displays, quickly locate which screen your cursor is on by activating the spotlight.

```
Scenario: Working across 3 monitors
Action: Press Win + Shift + F
Result: Spotlight immediately shows cursor location
```

### Presentations

Draw attention to your cursor during screen sharing or presentations without needing a laser pointer.

<Tip>
  Configure a shorter animation duration (200-300ms) for presentations to make the effect more immediate.
</Tip>

### Large Display Screens

On 4K monitors or ultra-wide displays, the default cursor can be difficult to spot. Find My Mouse makes it instantly visible.

### Accessibility

Users with visual tracking difficulties can use Find My Mouse to quickly reorient to the cursor position.

## Source Code Reference

The Find My Mouse implementation can be found at:

* Module interface: `src/modules/MouseUtils/FindMyMouse/dllmain.cpp`
* Settings structure: Lines 18-32 in dllmain.cpp
* Default hotkey: Line 612 (Win + Shift + F)