VoiceOver Cursor following mouse raises background windows

By slohmaier, 21 February, 2021

Forum
macOS and Mac Apps

Hi,

I have an issue with VoiceOver cursor following the mouse:
When I am in a non-fullscreen window and pass over a window in the background the voice over cursor switches there and the background windows come to the foreground. In JAWS it does not do this. Can I deactivate this behaviour somehow?

Stefan

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Comments

By Elizabeth on Sunday, December 3, 2023 - 14:31

Greetings! We are having this issue as well. I am working with my father, who has very very low vision. Dealing with this has been so frustrating. I do not understand how to help and I wonder if we are using the wrong mouse. I very much hope you have solved the problem for your own needs. Advice is welcome but not expected.

By Brian on Sunday, December 3, 2023 - 14:31

If you can live without the mouse cursor consistently following the VoiceOver cursor, then I would recommend you disable that feature in the VO Utility (VO+F8) with or without the FN key. The setting is in the 'Navigation' category of the VO Utility.

Then if you need the mouse cursor to move to the VO cursor for any reason in the future, just press VO + Command + F5, again with or without the FN key.

HTH. 🤔

By Elizabeth on Sunday, December 3, 2023 - 14:31

Hi Brian,

We are so grateful to you for replying. We are trying this out and working with the different options in Navigation. It has been very difficult getting started with this computer and hearing from you was a real shot in the arm for us. Hope you are well!!

By Brian on Sunday, December 3, 2023 - 14:31

Glad to help. If you folks are new to Mac OS and/or VoiceOver, then I have another tip for you.
The VoiceOver Help Menu is a wonderful place to learn the ins and outs of VO usage. Access it by pressing 'VO + h'.

There is a lot of useful information in there.

Enjoy~ 😎

By Elizabeth on Sunday, December 3, 2023 - 14:31

Ok, I am exploring. My dad was using voiceover on a PC until now so he is new to Apple (but a whiz with voiceover on PC) and I am ok with Apple but not as experienced with voiceover. Together we make one whole computer user. Hahah. Have a great day!