Windows 10: Change Time to Activate Window by Hovering Over with Mouse in Windows

How to: Change Time to Activate Window by Hovering Over with Mouse in Windows

How to Change Time to Activate Window by Hovering Over with Mouse in Windows


By default in Windows, you need to click/tap on a window to make it active and bring it into focus.

If you turn on Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse, you can activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse pointer for a half second (500 ms) by default.

If you like, you can change the default time for how long you need to hover over a window before it activates to what you want instead.

This tutorial will show you how to change the default time to activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse pointer for your account in Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10.



Here's How:

1 Press the Win + R keys to open Run, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.

2 Navigate to the key below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop




3 In the right pane of the Desktop key, double click/tap on the ActiveWndTrkTimeout DWORD to modify it. (see screenshot above)

If you do not see the ActiveWndTrkTimeout DWORD, then verify you have turned on Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse, refresh (F5) Registry Editor, and check again.


4 Select (dot) Decimal, type in a number for how many milliseconds (ms) for the time you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

The default time is 500 ms. 1000 ms equals 1 second.




5 Close Registry Editor.

6 restart the computer to apply.


That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Turn On or Off Activate Window by Hovering Over with Mouse in Windows

:)

 

Activate window on mouse hover


OK, this is what worked for me to Extend the time of the hover before Focus kicks in, do all the following.
Start - Search Type in regedit - Click Yes when asked about the app making changes.
go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER
go to Contorl panel
go to Mouse
On the list on the right go to Mouse Hover Time
Click on it. I changed it from 400 to 4000, you can do less, it's your call.
Close the registry editor.
Now Log off, then log back on, or Restart if you feel more comfortable.
Now go to Control Panel - All Control Panel Items
go to Ease of Access Center
Go to Make the Mouse Easier to Use
Uncheck the "Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse" box
Click Apply
NOW RE-CHECK the "Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse"
Click Apply again.
You should now find your hover time between windows is at a reasonable delay, and not instant.

 

Activate window on mouse hover


Hi guys, I'm having the same issue and Option 3 in that tutorial is not working for me. Should I start a new thread?

Mouse Hover Makes Window Active - Enable - Windows 7 Help Forums

My situation: in Win7, I had the option checked to 'Activate window on mouse hover' and just upgraded to Win10 and it's driving me crazy having no delay before the window gets active.

I went into the registry and for
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
UserPreferenceMask the value there after the upgrade is DF 7E 07 80 12 00 00 00

I changed this to the suggested: 9F 3E 07 80 12 00 00 00 and after logging back in, on hover, the window gets active but not focused - not what I'm looking for so I have left this value at DF...

for:
ActiveWndTrkTimeout
I changed the decimal value to 150 and still no delay. Even at 500, still no delay.

Help *Confused

 

Activate window on mouse hover


I have same problem and found this great summary of it, but it seems it was moved to another thread. It would be really helpful when such things are moved like this if whoever did it could provide a link to the place it was moved to... Brink, or whoever, please advise

 

how to disable mouse hover on a windows 10 desktop

Hi David,

Windows has a feature where you can activate a window by hovering over it with a mouse. We would like to verify if you are referring to that kind of feature. If so, we can disable it using the steps below:

• Right-click on the Start menu.
• Choose Control Panel then, click Ease of Access.
• Click Change how your mouse works.
• Look for Make it easier to manage windows then, uncheck the box beside the
  Activate a window by hovering it with the mouse.
  
• Click Apply, then OK.

Don't hesitate to update us with the result.

 

Trouble with Hover function

Hi Gwendolyn,

The option to activate a window by hovering it with the mouse may not be enabled, and this could be a possible cause why you are experiencing an issue with using the hover function of your mouse.

Follow these steps to enable the Activate a window by hovering it with the mouse option:

• Using Cortana, type ease of access.
• On the search results, click on Ease of Access Center.
• Choose Make the mouse easier to use.
• Under Make it easier to manage windows, tick on the checkbox beside Activate a window by hovering it with the mouse.
  
• Click Apply and then click OK.
• Restart your computer.

Let us know if further assistance is needed.