A multi-monitor setup can enhance your productivity in several ways. By default, such a setup allows you to move the mouse cursor freely between the various monitors. You only need to love the cursor close to the edge of the current monitor and it will automatically jump to the adjacent monitor.
While this is convenient in many cases, there are cases when you do not want the cursor to automatically move the adjacent monitor. For instance, you do not need this feature when playing a video game on your computer. It will also make it difficult for you to click on the ‘Show Desktop’ button on any of the displays.
In such cases, you need to lock the mouse cursor to the current monitor—hence preventing it from moving to the next display, even when moved close to the edge. Throughout this guide, you will learn how you can stop the mouse from going to the secondary monitor.
It can be very annoying when the mouse cursor drifts to the secondary display while you are in the middle of a game. To stop this from happening, you need to introduce a border in-between your monitors from the Screen Resolution settings.
You should also consider rearranging the monitors in Windows. This allows for precise movement of the cursor on your monitor, which can also solve the issue. You can also use any of the leading multi-display tools available today to lock the cursor to the current monitor.
How to Prevent the Cursor From Jumping to the Next Monitor
Enhance your gaming experience by locking the mouse cursor to the current monitor. Different methods may be used to achieve this. Discussed below are some of the most effective solutions, in this regard:
Method 1: Rearrange the Monitors in Windows
To allow for precise movement, hence gain more control while moving the cursor between monitors, you should consider rearranging the monitors. In this case, you need to rearrange the monitors in Windows such that they match the physical arrangement on the desk.
The right procedure for rearranging displays in Windows will depend on the OS version you are running as illustrated below:
How to Rearrange Monitors in Windows 10 & 8
Press the Windows + X keys combination on the keyboard and then select the ‘Control Panel’ option to open it. Next, click on ‘Appearance and Personalization’ then proceed to select the ‘Display’ option on the following screen. Now select the ‘Resolution’ or ‘Adjust Resolution’ option depending on the Windows version you are running.
This operation should display your monitors as numbered icons. At this point, you need to click on Identify to display the number for each of the connected monitors. By default, this will display how your operating system has assigned the positions for the various monitors on your setup.
To rearrange their positions, just click on any of the monitor icons and drag it to the preferred location. Arrange the icons to best match the physical monitor setup. Once done, click on the OK button to apply the changes you just made.
How to Rearrange Monitors in Windows 7 and Vista
Press the Windows button on the keyboard to display the Start menu then click on the ‘Control Panel’ option to open it. Next, select the ‘Appearance ad Personalization’ category on the Control Panel then select Display.
Navigate to the ‘Adjust Resolution’ settings on the left column to display the monitors on your setup as numbered icons. Now click on the Identify button to view the monitor numbers as assigned by the operating system.
You may then ‘drag and drop’ the various monitors to rearrange them. As a guide, you should try to arrange them in a pattern that best matches your physical setup. Once done, click on the OK button then close the window.
How to Rearrange Monitors in Windows XP
Click on the Start button then select ‘Control panel’ from the Start Menu that pops up. Find the Display entry on the Control panel and double-click on it. Now you should navigate to the Settings tab on the Display settings window.
This will display the monitors in your setup as numbered icons. To check how the operating system has assigned monitor positions, click on Identify on this window. Finally, you need to ‘drag and drop’ the various monitors in your setup to rearrange them I to a pattern that best matches their physical setup.
Once done, click on the OK button and then close the window.
Method 2: Configure Windows Display Settings Accordingly
If rearranging the monitors in Windows does not stop the mouse from going to the second monitor, you should try reconfiguring display settings. This method does not require you to use a third-party application. Here is how you should go about it:
Step 1: Right-click on the Desktop then select ‘Display Settings’ from the context menu that appears. This is particularly the case for Windows 10 users. If you are running Windows 7, you should select the ‘Screen Resolution’s option from the context menu.
This will display a window with the current alignment of the monitors in your setup. Normally, they will be positioned side by side. This is why the mouse cursor is jumping to the next monitor when you bring it too close to the edge of the current monitor.
Step 2: Click on the virtual monitor icon for the monitor on which you wish to lock the mouse cursor. Having selected the current monitor, you need to drag it and rearrange it diagonally in respect to the secondary monitor.
This configuration will stop the mouse from going to the next screen when the cursor is moved close to the edge. If you wish to move the mouse cursor to the adjacent monitor, you will have to move the cursor from one corner to another (diagonally).
Method 3:
Having a dual-monitor configuration gives you a pretty good productivity improvement but introduces a few annoyances you don’t have when working on a single monitor. For example, it is more likely for your mouse cursor to slip to the second screen when all you want to do is close the active application window or press the Show Desktop button on the taskbar
To do this, just right-click the desktop and go to “Screen Resolution”. Move the left monitor up just a few pixels. and you should notice that everything looks the same, but there’s now a tiny little “wall” in the top-right and bottom-right corners of your left monitor. This allows you to:
Close a maximized window on the left monitor without your cursor drifting over.
Snap a window to the right half of your left monitor by dragging it to the top-right corner. This also works for the left side of your right monitor, if you drag the window to the bottom left corner.
More easily show the desktop from the taskbar without your cursor drifting over to the right monitor (provided your taskbar is on the left monitor and not the right).
Method 4:
You have to decelerate your mouse movement to help prevent yourself from accidentally drifting your mouse cursor to the other monitor. You can solve this issue without adjusting your mouse movement by letting a program automatically stop your cursor when it hits the edge of a display (even if your second monitor is connected.)
1.Go to the Dual Display Mouse Manager project page (see Resource), and click the “Download” button. Save the file to your desktop.
2.Right-click the file you just downloaded, and click “Extract All…” Click the “Extract” button to extract the program files to a new folder on your desktop. Open the new folder on your desktop and launch the DDMM file.
3.Click the “Auto Detect” button to match the border with your monitor setup. Click the “Save and Close” button to apply the changes and leave the program running in the background.
So what does Dual Monitor Tools do? Before you start a game you will press a key combination (which you will configure below). This will lock the mouse inside the screen; it will not be able to go to any of your other monitors until you press that same key combination again. In doing this it also locks your mouse inside the game.
