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Overview

Mouse Highlighter displays colorful visual effects around your cursor whenever you click the left or right mouse button. This makes mouse clicks more visible during presentations, screen recordings, or tutorials.
Mouse Highlighter is ideal for creating instructional videos or demonstrating software workflows where click visibility is important.

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How to Activate

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Toggle Highlighter

Press the activation shortcut to enable or disable Mouse Highlighter:
  • Default shortcut: Win + Shift + H

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Auto-Activate Mode

Enable “Auto-activate” in settings to have Mouse Highlighter start automatically when PowerToys launches.

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Configuration Options

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Activation Settings

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activation_shortcut
hotkey
default:"Win + Shift + H"
Keyboard shortcut to toggle Mouse Highlighter on and off
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auto_activate
boolean
default:"false"
Automatically enable Mouse Highlighter when PowerToys starts

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Appearance Settings

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left_button_click_color
color
default:"#FFFF00A6"
Color of the highlight effect for left mouse button clicks (ARGB format with transparency)
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right_button_click_color
color
default:"#FF0099FF"
Color of the highlight effect for right mouse button clicks (ARGB format with transparency)
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always_color
color
default:"#00FFFFFF"
Color for continuous highlight mode (when spotlight mode is disabled). Default is fully transparent.
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highlight_radius
number
default:"20"
Radius of the highlight circle in pixels
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highlight_fade_delay_ms
number
default:"500"
Time in milliseconds before the highlight starts to fade after appearing
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highlight_fade_duration_ms
number
default:"250"
Duration in milliseconds for the fade-out animation

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Display Mode

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spotlight_mode
boolean
default:"false"
Enable spotlight mode: shows highlight only during clicks. When disabled, shows a continuous highlight around the cursor using the “always_color” setting.

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Use Cases

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Tutorial Videos

Make mouse clicks visible in screen recordings so viewers can follow along with your actions. 
Scenario: Recording a software tutorial
Setup: Enable auto-activate, set fade delay to 400ms
Result: Each click shows a colored ring that helps viewers track actions

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Presentations

Highlight where you’re clicking during live demonstrations to help audience members follow along on large screens.
Use contrasting colors for left and right clicks (yellow for left, blue for right) to make different interactions clear.

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Accessibility

Help users with visual processing difficulties track mouse interactions by making clicks more prominent.

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Software Testing

Document bug reports or test cases with visible click indicators in screen captures.

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Visual Customization Tips

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High Contrast Environments

For dark backgrounds:
  • Use bright colors: #FFFFFF00 (yellow), #FF00FFFF (cyan)
For light backgrounds:
  • Use darker, saturated colors: #FFFF0000 (red), #FF0000FF (blue)

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Transparency Settings

The first two digits in the ARGB color format control transparency:
  • FF = fully opaque (255)
  • CC = 80% opaque (204)
  • 99 = 60% opaque (153)
  • 66 = 40% opaque (102)
Example: #99FF0000 = semi-transparent red

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Performance Optimization

For better performance on older systems:
  • Reduce fade duration to 100-150ms
  • Reduce highlight radius to 15-18 pixels
  • Use spotlight mode (shows highlights only on click)

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Source Code Reference

The Mouse Highlighter implementation can be found at:
  • Module interface: src/modules/MouseUtils/MouseHighlighter/dllmain.cpp
  • Settings parsing: Lines 191-407 in dllmain.cpp
  • Default hotkey: Line 404 (Win + Shift + H)