Mouse is highlighting everything when I click

Some users are complaining that their mouse cursor highlights everything when they click. According to them, this issue is not associated with a particular application. When they work in Microsoft Word or in another similar application, their mouse cursor keeps selecting the text when they click. When they work in a web browser, their mouse cursor keeps highlighting when they try to select the desired tab, website, text, etc. Similar issues occur in other applications too. If you are experiencing such an issue, this article may help you fix it.

Why is everything getting selected when I click the mouse?

There could be multiple reasons why everything is getting selected when you click, like:

1. Corrupted or outdated mouse/touchpad driver.
2. Faulty mouse or laptop touchpad.
3. Sticky Keys feature is turned on.
4. You have enabled the ClickLock feature.

In this article, we have described some methods to fix this problem.

Mouse is highlighting everything when I click

Below, we have explained some solutions that may help you get rid of this problem. But, before you proceed, we suggest you check your mouse with another computer. This will let you know whether your mouse is faulty or not. If you are using a wireless mouse, replace its batteries and check if the issue persists. If your mouse is not faulty, try the following fixes.

1. Run Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter.
2. Scan your computer with Microsoft Safety Scanner.
3. Update your mouse driver.
4. Uninstall and reinstall your mouse driver.
5. Check if ClickLock is turned on.
6. Turn off the Sticky Keys.
7. Run SFC and DISM scans.
8. Restore the previous version of Windows.

Let’s see these solutions in detail.

1] Run Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter

Because the issue that you are experiencing might be related to hardware, running the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter can help fix it. It is an automated tool that tries to find the cause of the problem and fixes it (if possible).

2] Scan your computer with Microsoft Safety Scanner

One possible cause of the problem is virus or malware infection. Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free tool developed by Microsoft that scans your system for infection and removes all the malicious programs that it finds. This tool is available on Microsoft’s official website.

3] Update your mouse driver

The outdated and corrupted device drivers also cause several issues on a system. We suggest you update your mouse driver and see if it helps. To update your mouse driver, follow the steps listed below:

1. Right-click on the Start Menu and select Device Manager.
2. In the Device Manager, expand the Mice and other pointing devices node.
3. Right-click on your mouse driver and select Update device.
4. Now, select the Search automatically for drivers option.

After that, Windows will search for the latest version of your mouse driver and install it on your system. After updating your mouse driver, check if the issue persists.

4] Uninstall and reinstall your mouse driver

If updating the mouse driver does not work, try to reinstall it. We have listed the steps for the same below:

1. Open Device Manager.
2. Expand the Mice and other pointing devices node.
3. Right-click on your mouse driver and select Uninstall device.
4. Click Uninstall.

After uninstalling the mouse driver, restart your computer. After restarting the device, Windows will detect the hardware changes and reinstall the missing driver.

5] Check if ClickLock is turned on

ClickLock is a feature in Windows 11/10 that lets users highlight or drag without holding the left mouse button. This feature is useful for laptop users. Open the Control Panel and check if you have enabled this feature accidentally.

Follow the steps below:

1. Press Win + R keys to launch the Run command box.
2. Type Control Panel and click OK.
3. In the Control Panel, select Large icons in the View by mode.
4. Click Mouse.
5. Select the Buttons tab and deselect the ClickLock option (if it is selected).
6. Click Apply and then OK.

6] Turn off the Sticky Keys

Disabling the Sticky Keys has fixed the issue for many users. You can also try this. Turn off the Sticky Keys and see if it brings any changes.

7] Run SFC and DISM scans

SFC or System File Checker is an automated tool from Microsoft that helps users fix missing and repair corrupted system files. If the issue is occurring due to missing or corrupted system files, running an SFC scan will fix it.

DISM or Deployment Imaging and Servicing Management tool is used when the SFC tool fails to repair the corrupted system files. If the SFC scan does not fix your problem, you can run the DISM scan.

8] Restore the previous version of Windows

If you are experiencing the issue after installing a recent Windows update, restoring back the previous version may fix it.

Mouse is highlighting everything without clicking

This issue is similar to the one that we have covered above in this article. The only difference is that, here, the mouse cursor highlights or auto-selects when you hover over a window. If this issue occurs on your system, you can try some general solutions, like running Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter, updating or reinstalling the mouse driver, disabling the Sticky Keys, etc. The issue also occurs if you have enabled the Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse feature. You can check this in the Ease of Access Center in the Control Panel.

How do I turn off ClickLock in Windows?

To turn off ClickLock in Windows, follow these steps:

1. Open the “Control Panel” on your computer.
2. Click on “Hardware and Sound” and then click on “Mouse” to open the Mouse Properties window.
3. Click on the “Buttons” tab and then uncheck the box next to “Turn on ClickLock” to disable this feature.
4. Click “Apply” to save your changes and click “OK” to close the Mouse Properties window.
5. You can now use your mouse as usual without ClickLock being enabled.

I hope this helps.

Read next: Mouse scrolling automatically up or down in Windows 11/10.