How do I turn off "show mouse" when I press Ctrl?

Question

I've searched everywhere in the system settings but I still can't find it.

I just found out that `dconf` has replaced `gconf`. Are you still looking for a fix? — Seth, Jan 29 '13 at 00:45

score 32 · Answer 1 · edited Sep 12 '15 at 01:59

32

NOTE: I found out the Dconf has mostly replaced Gconf. Since using Gconf did't work, I have updated the instructions for Dconf.

You can change the setting in dconf-editor

sudo apt-get install dconf-editor

Open dconf-editor and navigate to: org -> gnome -> settings-daemon -> peripherals -> mouse then check/uncheck the 'locate pointer' option.

enter image description here

edited Sep 12 '15 at 01:59

Champ

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answered Dec 18 '12 at 02:51

Seth

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Didn't work... I have to admit, I did see that on my adventure through every system setting. – phillips1012 Dec 18 '12 at 03:04
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It worked for me and I just add to it the comamndline way( to build in your scripts etc.): `gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.mouse locate-pointer true`. Great explanation in http://askubuntu.com/a/191013/79176 . – Huge Aug 24 '14 at 17:10
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This answer is not the best answer for newer versions than at least 15.10 – MPi May 10 '16 at 06:30
@MPi Did you try it? It works juts fine for me on 15.10. – Seth May 10 '16 at 17:50
@Seth I did not try it, but it will surely work. My preference would always be a one-liner shell command with pre-installed tools, over a graphical step-by-step explanation with tools to be additionally installed. My comment about the Ubuntu version was probably wrong and misleading, though. – MPi May 11 '16 at 07:33
MPi this worked well for me, versions 14 and 16. Thanks Seth. Installing dconf-editor isn't a big deal it is useful for many, many things. It's useful to have in one's system, or it is for me anyway. – neuronet Aug 09 '16 at 03:15
worked for me on 16.04 – rbierman Jun 05 '17 at 18:47
At least with Nautilus 3.14.3 on Ubuntu 16.04 be were of [this bug](https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=125618) that don't let you copy (Ctrl+C) filenames. – Pablo Bianchi Jun 09 '17 at 02:04
worked for me on ubuntu 18.04.3 LTS, gnome 3.28.2 – rehan Sep 29 '19 at 09:15

score 16 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 26 '16 at 07:59

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In a terminal run:

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.mouse locate-pointer true

to enable and/or

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.mouse locate-pointer false

to disable.

answered Jan 26 '16 at 07:59

A.B.

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score 10 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 18 '12 at 02:17

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Its under 'Mouse and Touchpad' in System Settings

enter image description here

answered Dec 18 '12 at 02:17

Seth

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What version of Ubuntu are you using? – Seth Dec 18 '12 at 02:19
12.10, here is a screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/nowzZ.png – phillips1012 Dec 18 '12 at 02:21
Looks like your running Kubuntu. Is that right? – Seth Dec 18 '12 at 02:23
No, I'm using gnome 3.6 (with a custom theme, obviously). I think I may have discovered the cause, though. I updated to gnome-control-center 3.6, which doesn't have that option. Any workarounds? – phillips1012 Dec 18 '12 at 02:25
It looks like linuxmint to me...which would make it off-topic – RobotHumans Dec 18 '12 at 02:27
@AbrahamVanHelpsing no – phillips1012 Dec 18 '12 at 02:28
no, thats not it. I'm running 3.6 too. – Seth Dec 18 '12 at 02:34
This is what I found, and it looks exactly like what I have: www.webupd8.org/2012/11/gnome-control-center-36-available-in.html. Do you know of any way to downgrade it back to the previous version? – phillips1012 Dec 18 '12 at 02:37
This thread has the gconf setting. See if the switch to dconf has nuked this yet: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=949500 – RobotHumans Dec 18 '12 at 02:43
Have to tried accessibility? – Seth Dec 18 '12 at 03:47
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Yes, I've tried practically everything. – phillips1012 Dec 18 '12 at 03:52
It's a pity that this option has been removed later and as suggested in another answer you now (e.g. Ubuntu 13.10) have to go through a number of steps in **dconf** to this end :-( – Sadi Mar 13 '14 at 09:01

Shay Ben-Sasson · Answer 4 · 2022-08-16T11:36:45.990

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For those in Ubuntu 22.04:

The Locate Pointer option is listed in Settings->Accessibility. Turn it off.

Additional reference

edited Aug 16 '22 at 11:36

answered Aug 16 '22 at 11:34

Shay Ben-Sasson

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score 3 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 03 '15 at 03:01

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You can do this using Gnome Tweak Tool ...

Look at "Keyboard and Mouse" settings ... its an On - OFF switch ... CTRL key.

answered Dec 03 '15 at 03:01

Moipersoin

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-1 because of poor answer. Using GNOME Tweak Tool... in Ubuntu with Unity desktop? There is no "Keyboard and Mouse" settings in GNOME Tweak Tool. – Dec 03 '15 at 03:29
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Still a useful answer, for Ubuntu users on 17.10 that switched to Gnome Shell: `gnome-tweak-tools` > "Keyboard and Mouse" > "Mouse" > "Pointer Location" / "*Press the Ctrl key to highlight the pointer.*" – Yann Dìnendal Mar 06 '18 at 08:58
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its now become valid, and helped me, as i'm on ubuntu 18 - which uses gnome by defaultr – user230910 May 30 '18 at 05:01

Th. Thielemann · Answer 6 · 2021-04-13T09:47:03.057

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In Ubuntu 20 this setting is in Settings -> Universal Access -> Locate Pointer.

With dconf

dconf write /org/gnome/desktop/interface/locate-pointer false

edited Apr 13 '21 at 09:47

answered Apr 13 '21 at 09:40

Th. Thielemann

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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Jun 14 '23 at 15:31

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You can disable using Gnome Tweeks

enter image description here

answered Jun 14 '23 at 15:31

Victor Saramento

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score 0 · Answer 8 · answered Aug 01 '16 at 17:02

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In Ubuntu 15.04 LTS

$ gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.mouse locate-pointer true

worked fine but I could no longer use the CTRL key in remmina VNC.

answered Aug 01 '16 at 17:02

Stitzinger

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Don't you mean "gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.mouse locate-pointer false" – Jason May 21 '18 at 17:43

How do I turn off "show mouse" when I press Ctrl?

8 Answers8

For those in Ubuntu 22.04:

Linked

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