Use PC without mouse or by speech alone; Use mouse without clicking

In this post, we will show you how to use your PC without the mouseor by speech alone or use your mouse without clicking by moving it only. Windows offers built-in ways to navigate on-screen without using the mouse or the keyboard. You can enable On-Screen Keyboard if your keyboard is not working, turn on the Mouse Keys feature to control your cursor using the numeric keypad in case of a mouse failure, or use Voice Typing as an alternative to both mouse and keyboard inputs.

However, third-party tools can sometimes offer advantages over Windows built-in alternatives for keyboard or mouse input. In this post, we will cover three tools specifically designed to improve accessibility for users with disabilities or unique input needs.

Use PC without mouse or by speech alone in Windows 11/10

To help you use PC without the mouse or by speech alone, or use mouse without clicking, we have shortlisted the following third-party tools:

1. Clickless Mouse
2. Work by Speech
3. Aspiring Keyboard

All the above tools are open-source projects distributed under the MIT license, so you can download them free for personal use. Let us have a look at them in detail.

Use mouse without clicking on Windows PC

1] Clickless Mouse

Clickless Mouse is primarily designed for people with disabilities (repetitive strain injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, motor disabilities, etc.), but it can be used by anyone in case of a mouse button failure. It works by simulating left/right mouse clicks, left/right mouse button holding, and double left mouse clicks on certain predefined mouse movements by the user.

You can download Clickless Mouse from GitHub. The tool requires administrator rights and can only work with programs and games run in borderless or windowed mode. Once you run Clickless Mouse, you can minimize it to the taskbar area and continue working on your main app. Then, when you want to make a mouse click, you need to stop the mouse movement for a second and wait for the square(s) to appear (each square will have a double border in yellow and blue). Then, you need to move the cursor to a specific square, as described below, to take the desired action:

• For a double left mouse button click, take the cursor to the top square (in the center).
• For a left mouse button click, take the cursor to the square which is located to the left of the top square (the top-left square)
• For a right mouse button click, take the cursor to the square which is located to the right of the top square (the top-right square)
• For a left mouse button hold, take the cursor to the square at the bottom left corner. Use this as an on/off toggle.
• For a right mouse button hold, take the cursor to the square at the bottom right corner. Use this as an on/off toggle.

This is how Clickless Mouse helps you perform mouse button clicks/holds just by moving the mouse. Please note that by default only the left mouse click is enabled, so you need to enable all other options in the app’s Main Settings to take appropriate actions. To minimize the app to the system stray, you can use the option available under Other Settings.

2] Work by Speech

Work by Speech allows you to use your computer without a mouse or keyboard. It uses Windows Speech Recognition Engine to convert user voice into commands that can be used in place of a mouse or keyboard input. The tool works well with just two voice trainings, where each takes around 7 minutes to complete.

You can download Work by Speech from GitHub by clicking this link. The download file comes as an installer and requires administrator rights to run. Before you may use the tool, you need to train your computer to recognize your voice. For that, you need a headset microphone or a microphone with good sensitivity (around -40 dB while having high SNR). You also need to set English (United States/India/United Kingdom/ Australia/Canada) as Window’s default display language and speech recognition language.

You can start by going to the Ease of Access section within the Control Panel and training your computer to understand your voice patterns (make sure your microphone is connected and working). Once you complete two voice trainings, you can launch Work by Speech and start using the app.

Work by Speech works in 3 different modes:

• Off: This is the default mode of the app and is represented by a red microphone icon. The only command acceptable in this mode is ‘start speech recognition’.
• Command: Represented by a green microphone icon, this mode uses voice commands for keyboard/mouse inputs.
• Dictation: This mode is represented by a blue microphone icon and converts speech into text using the Windows Dictation Tool.

The app launches a small prompt on startup, along with the main program window. The prompt allows you to change the mode of the program as per your requirements. To speed up repetitive tasks, you can also create custom commands in the app.

For mouse movements, the app shows a mousegrid that divides the screen into up to 2550 figures. Each figure contains up to 2 characters. To read them, you need to know the mousegrid alphabet described in the Mousegrid Alphabet document (you can find its link in the Help section within the main program window). Reading a string inside a figure moves the mouse cursor to the center of that string and performs the mouse action that was chosen earlier by a voice command.

3] Aspiring Keyboard

Last on the list is Aspiring Keyboard, another similar app that allows you to use your Windows 11/10 PC without the mouse. You may think of it as a subset of the Work by Speech app. To download Aspiring Keyboard from its official source on GitHub, you may click on this link. The app comes in both portable and installer versions and can be run using administrator privileges.

Aspiring Keyboard also works on the concept of a mousegrid that divides the screen into up to 2704 figures for any keyboard layout and up to 3364 figures for US English/US International keyboard layout. Each figure in the mousegrid consists of 2 characters. Typing a string inside a mousegrid figure moves the cursor to the center of that string and performs a mouse action that was chosen earlier by pressing a key.

For example, after running the tool, you may invoke the mousegrid by pressing Caps Lock. Your screen will instantly turn into a grid of figures, each containing 2 characters. You can then type the characters corresponding to the location where you want to move your cursor. After that, your cursor will automatically move to the desired location (without needing the mouse) and perform the action attached with the Caps Lock key (which is a left mouse button click by default).

The tool offers a predefined set of commands under two different modes: Green and Blue. You can customize these actions or learn about more control keys from the apps’ main interface.

Learning the above tools requires a bit of experimenting and a proper understanding of their knowledge base.

Read: How to log into a Windows computer without Keyboard.

How do you right-click on a PC without a mouse?

You can use the Windows on-screen keyboard to emulate mouse actions, including right-clicking. Click on the Start button icon and select Settings. Navigate to Accessibility > Keyboard. Turn on the toggle key next to the On-screen keyboard. Windows on-screen keyboard will appear. Place your cursor at the location you want to make a right-click and click on the menu icon on the on-screen keyboard (icon to the right of the right arrow key).

Read: How to log into a Windows computer without Keyboard

Can I turn off the click on my mouse?

While you cannot turn off the left mouse button click, you can change the button configuration and make the right mouse button the one you use for primary functions. Open Control Panel and change the View by option to Large icons. Click on Mouse. The Mouse Properties window will open. Click on the Switch primary and secondary buttons checkbox in the top-left corner. Click Apply > OK to save changes.

Read Next: Keyboard won’t type numbers OR will only type numbers.