Simulate clicking by hovering

You can click or drag simply by hovering your mouse pointer over a control or object on the screen. This is useful if you find it difficult to move the mouse and click at the same time. This feature is called Hover Click or Dwell Click.

When Hover Click is enabled, you can move your mouse pointer over a control, let go of the mouse, and then wait for a while before the button will be clicked for you.

  1. Open the Activities overview and start typing Universal Access.

  2. Click Universal Access to open the panel.

  3. Press Click Assist in the Pointing & Clicking section.

  4. Switch Hover Click to on.

The Hover Click window will open, and will stay above all of your other windows. You can use this to choose what sort of click should happen when you hover. For example, if you select Secondary Click, you will right-click when you hover. After you double-click, right-click, or drag, you will be automatically returned to clicking.

When you hover your mouse pointer over a button and do not move it, it will gradually change color. When it has fully changed color, the button will be clicked.

Adjust the Delay setting to change how long you have to hold the mouse pointer still before clicking.

You do not need to hold the mouse perfectly still when hovering to click. The pointer is allowed to move a little bit and will still click after a while. If it moves too much, however, the click will not happen.

Adjust the Motion threshold setting to change how much the pointer can move and still be considered to be hovering.