Is there a way to temporarily enlarge the mouse pointer like Apple's "Shake to find" does?

I'm aware of Apple's "Shake to find" feature, which enlarges the pointer (too briefly for me), and I occasionally use it.

I'm also aware of (increasingly unstable and out-of-date) third-party programs like "Mouse Locator" and Mouseposé, both of which suffer from lack of upgrades to keep up with Mac OS versions.

I'm looking for a way to trigger the temporary big cursor effect of "Shake to find" without shaking the mouse - as I want to keep the cursor near the thing I want to highlight.

Solution 1:

There is way to increase the size of your cursor, but it will stay that size until you change it again. Maybe making the cursor a little bigger will help?

Go to System Preferences and click Accessibility. Then on the left click on Display. Click on the subsection called "Cursor", then use the slider to set the cursor size. You can also turn off the feature where your cursor expands when you shake it by unchecking the box.

Solution 2:

You're looking in the wronn direction. The "Shake to Find" feature is used when you cannot find your mouse pointer. It is not intended to be used when you can locate the mouse pointer, but want to make others aware of its location.

In the comments you wrote that you specifically want this feature for making others aware of your mouse pointer location when screen sharing and similar. There's no way of making that feature do what you want.

Luckily, multiple utility apps exist for precisely this purpose:

You can go to the App Store and buy "Cursor Pro" by IXEAU UG, which works as a mouse pointer highlighter and magnifier when pressing a hot key.

Another alternative is the app "Mouseposé" from Boinx Software, which adds a spot light to your mouse pointer. It can also do other stuff such as adding an animation when you click the mouse. I haven't had any issues with stability with this program in its latest version.

A cheaper alternative is "myPoint Light S" from Code Race on the App Store, which allows you to add a visual effect to the mouse pointer by pressing a hot key.

Another alternative is the free program "Highlighter" which permanently adds a ring around your mouse pointer.

Another free program is "Mouse Locator" from 2point5fish, which allows you to trigger a sniper like graphics with a hot key. This app doesn't seem to be updated anymore, though - so even though it is free, it might not be worth the extra effort.