Active window tracking is a feature in Windows that determines which window becomes active when you hover your mouse pointer over it. Essentially, when you move your mouse over an inactive window, that window automatically becomes the active one without requiring you to click on it explicitly.
Classic Control Panel Method
- Open the Control Panel.
- Navigate to Ease of Access > Ease of Access Center.
- On the right, click the link that says “Make the mouse easier to use.”
- Check the option “Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse” and click OK.
Registry Editor Method
- Open you registry and find the key below.
- Create a new DWORD value called ActiveWindowTracking, or modify the existing value, to equal 1 for enabled.
- Restart your computer for the changes to take affect.
Registry location
Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse]
Value Name: ActiveWindowTracking
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Data: (0=disable,1=enable)
Alternative Method (for Windows Vista and later versions)
- Open the Control Panel.
- Go to Ease of Access Center.
- Click “Make the mouse easier to use.”
- Check the option “Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse” and click OK.
Remember that this setting allows you to switch between windows more efficiently without clicking, especially when you have multiple windows open. If you prefer this behavior, give it a try!