Mac OS X has a variety of accessibility features that can help its users. One of them is the ability to increase the size of the cursor to make it easier to find and view. Mac OS X.11 El Capitan also offers a feature to temporarily enlarge the cursor view as you move the mouse back and forth.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Mac OS 10.8 and Newer Version
Step 1. Open the System Preferences program
If this option is not available in the Dock, click the Apple logo () in the upper-left corner of the screen. Select System Preferences from the drop-down menu.
These instructions apply to Mac OS 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.10 Yosemite, and 10.11 El Capitan. If you are using an earlier version of Mac OS X, move on to the next method
Step 2. Click “Accessibility”
Look for the blue circle icon with the white stick figure inside. If it's not available, type " Accessibility " into the search bar at the top of the window. The corresponding button will be marked after that.
Step 3. Select “Displays” on the left pane
This option is next to the desktop screen image.
Step 4. Slide the “Cursor Size” bar
Click, hold, and drag the slider to the right to increase the cursor size.
Step 5. Learn about the mouse swipe or shake options
If you are using Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan, you can see another feature under the cursor size bar, "Shake mouse pointer to locate". If the box is checked, the cursor size will be temporarily increased when the mouse is moved or shaken rapidly.
- This feature is not available on Mac OS X 10.10 or earlier.
- Rotating cursor movement works better than sideways motion.
Method 2 of 2: Mac OS 10.4 to 10.7
Step 1. Open the System Preferences program
Click the “System Preferences” icon in the Dock, or select it from the drop-down menu in the upper-left corner of the screen.
Step 2. Click “Universal Access”
This button is in the “Systems” section.
Step 3. Look for the “Mouse” or “Display” tab
The cursor size options are on one of these tabs, depending on the version of OS X you're using:
- "Displays"
- "Mouse"
- "Mouse & Trackpad"
Step 4. Resize the cursor
One of those tabs contains a “Cursor Size” slider. Click and drag the slider to increase the size of the mouse cursor.
Tips
- You can check your Mac OS X version by clicking the Apple logo () in the upper-left corner of the screen, then selecting About This Mac.
- This option may not be available in earlier versions of Mac OS X (10.3 or earlier).
