microsoft / microsoft/PowerToys

Cursor Wrap disabled on Windows Taskbar

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#45,976 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Needs-Triage Product-Cursor Wrap
Dominant language
C
Stars
139k
Forks
8.6k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

### Description of the new feature / enhancement

An enhancement could be an option that lets users to **disable the horizontal cursor wrap** on the Windows taskbar.

The current implementation of CursorWrap is an "all-or-nothing" experience that can occasionally hinder OS-level navigation. By adding a per-zone exclusion toggle specifically for the Windows Taskbar, we can prevent accidental wraps when users are trying to access corner-of-the-screen UI elements.

This aligns with Fitts's Law: by treating the screen edge as a hard stop rather than a portal, the "Show Desktop" and "Start" buttons effectively become "infinitely deep" targets. This significantly reduces the precision required to click them, especially on high-DPI displays where the cursor currently disappears onto the opposite side of the workspace.

### Scenario when this would be used?

When the user moves the mouse and the cursor goes on the **Show desktop** button of the Windows taskbar, since that button is thin, the cursor could miss it and go on the Windows Start button, bothering the user.

**Proposed Implementation Logic:**
- **User Configuration:** Add a toggle in the PowerToys Mouse Utilities settings: *"Disable wrapping when cursor is over the Taskbar."*

- **Edge Behavior:** When the cursor hits the screen boundary within the taskbar zone, it should remain at the final pixel of the taskbar, allowing the user to click the "Show Desktop" bar without the cursor jumping to the Start button on the far left.

### Supporting information

_No response_

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by locating the CursorWrap implementation and the Mouse Utilities settings in the PowerToys repository. Trace how screen-edge behavior and user configuration are handled for Windows, then verify that the taskbar exclusion can be enabled and that the cursor stays at the taskbar boundary without changing wrapping elsewhere.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
c
Domain
desktop, operating-systems
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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