# Huge cursor (mouse pointer) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-cursor-mouse-pointer/769804 "2016-10-26T21:25:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-cursor-mouse-pointer/769804/1 "2016-10-26T21:25:24Z")
Since upgrading to macOS Sierra, I’ve been experiencing my cursor occasionally appearing huge, like over 1/2" in length. This flashes for only a fraction of a second, while the mouse is moving, then returns to normal. I’ve been unable to intentionally cause this to happen, it seems to be beyond my control. What’s causing this? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-cursor-mouse-pointer/769804/2 "2016-10-26T21:39:35Z")
I don’t know anything about macs, but if this was MS, I’d suggest you look into the Accessibility settings. I’m not sure where these setting happened to land in my current version of Windows, but at least in the older ones you could set it up so that doing certain things would make your mouse pointer really easy to see/locate. You might want to look into something along those lines. ETA, try this Step 1: Open System Preferences. Step 2: Click Accessibility. Step 3: Click Display. Step 4: Uncheck Shake mouse pointer to locate. ETA2, found it here, there’s a video too. > **[How to disable the mouse pointer shake gesture on Mac](https://www.idownloadblog.com/2015/09/30/how-to-disable-the-mouse-pointer-shake-gesture-in-os-x-el-capitan/)** > > Have you ever woken your Mac up from sleep, and couldn’t find the mouse pointer among the mess of windows and desktop icons. We’ve all been there before. Starting with El Capitan, macOS is hoping to help out with that, courtesy of a... ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-cursor-mouse-pointer/769804/3 "2016-10-26T21:40:11Z")
It’s a new feature induced by jiggling your mouse or controlpad. I presume for emphasis or finding the cursor on the screen. You’ll get used to this feature. I haven’t looked into turning it off, but I do notice it doesn’t appear as often as it did previously. So I presume that I have modified my behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-cursor-mouse-pointer/769804/4 "2016-10-26T22:53:03Z")
> [@Disheavel](#): > > It’s a new feature induced by jiggling your mouse or controlpad. I presume for emphasis or finding the cursor on the screen. It’s exactly this. On a large screen with the small default cursor, just moving it doesn’t always find it for you, shake the mouse and it’s now obvious. I have it in OS X 10.11.6 BTW, so it’s not just Sierra. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-cursor-mouse-pointer/769804/5 "2016-10-27T04:18:46Z")
Damn, so it’s a feature, not a bug! But whenever I lose the cursor on the screen, all I have to do is move it and it gets my attention. I don’t need a cursor on steroids. I hope there’s a way to turn this off. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-cursor-mouse-pointer/769804/6 "2016-10-27T04:55:20Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Damn, so it’s a feature, not a bug! But whenever I lose the cursor on the screen, all I have to do is move it and it gets my attention. I don’t need a cursor on steroids. I hope there’s a way to turn this off. Post #2 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-cursor-mouse-pointer/769804/7 "2016-10-27T05:52:26Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I hope there’s a way to turn this off. Huh. I modified my system (Windows) to turn something similar ON with “Show location of pointer when I press the Ctrl key”. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-cursor-mouse-pointer/769804/8 "2016-10-27T16:52:22Z")
It’s for those of us running 3 or more monitors for an extended desktop experience. It’s a good feature for us, perhaps not so much for the rest of you. I’ve often had the “where the $^#@@@ is my cursor???” moment, staring from screen to screen, moving the mouse around. Used to have an OS X “hack” that would draw a big red crosshairs targe on the damn mouse cursor when a specified keystroke was invoked, but it stopped working a few versions ago. Nice to have _something_ that I like about the changes made since 10.6.8!