OS X El Capitan: Find your cursor by shaking your mouse or trackpad

Sometimes it can be difficult to find your cursor while using your Mac. Thankfully, OS X El Capitan has a very easy way to locate it by “shaking” your mouse or trackpad. This is a huge plus for older folks like me who might have a harder time seeing where the cursor is on their Mac’s screen. 

In this tip I’ll show you how you can quickly locate your cursor in OS X El Capitan.

How to find your cursor by shaking your mouse in OS X El Capitan

To find your cursor in OS X El Capitan, just follow these steps:

1. Grab your mouse and shake it vigorously.

2. Your cursor will grow in size until you can easily locate it on your Mac’s screen.

How to find your cursor with a trackpad in OS X El Capitan

You can also find your cursor on your Mac’s screen in OS X El Capitan by using your trackpad:

1. Tap and hold the surface of your trackpad.

2. Move your finger back and forth as fast as you can.

3. Your cursor will grow in size until you can easily see it on your Mac’s screen.

Why I love being able to find my cursor by shaking the mouse or trackpad in OS X El Capitan

I’m in my mid-40s now, so my eyes are simply not what they used to be. And I also work on a 27-inch, 5K iMac. The screen resolution is quite high and so sometimes it’s not easy for me to find the cursor. But now I simply tap and hold on my trackpad, and move my finger back and forth until the cursor gets huge and I can easily see it.

Shaking your mouse or trackpad to find your cursor is not one of OS X El Capitan’s best known features. It doesn’t seem to have gotten nearly as much media attention some of the other, more prominent features such as Split View. But being able to easily find your cursor is every bit as important, and is perhaps even more useful for some people.

So kudos to Apple for making it easy to locate the cursor in OS X El Capitan. It’s a big plus for those of us with eyes that aren’t as young as they used to be twenty years ago.

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