If you have multiple computers in the same computer network, you can share your mouse and keyboard with another computer via PowerToys.
This means that you can control another computer on the network using one keyboard and mouse. This is possible via the “Mouse without borders” function in Microsoft PowerToys.
“Mouse without borders” works by setting up a secure connection between two computers via PowerToys. When the two computers are connected, you can transfer your mouse to the other computer by moving your mouse to the edge of the screen. After this, the input from the keyboard is immediately available on the other computer. So it allows you to control another computer without a second keyboard or mouse.
PowerToys is free to use and can be installed on any computer with Windows, such as Windows 11 and Windows 10. This is how it works.
Share mouse and keyboard with another PC via PowerToys
To start, you need to install PowerToys. You can Download PowerToys to your computer and install for free. You must install PowerToys on both computers.
Then click on “Mouse without borders” on the computer with the mouse and keyboard connected. Then click on “Open settings”.
Enable the “Mouse without borders” function on the host computer.
Click on the “New Key” button to create a security key. Copy the key as the “Hostname of this device”.
Now go to the computer you want to share the mouse with. PowerToys must also be installed here.
Enable the “Mouse with borders” option as we did before. You now need the security key we created as well as the “hostname of this device” (from the other computer).
Paste the security key into the text box and paste the host name of the host computer. Click on “connect”.
As the connection is established, you will also see a new “Device Layout” section showing the available displays. This setting allows you to drag and rearrange the screen orders to match the physical location of the displays. The green border shows where the mouse cursor is located and you can use the “Refresh Connections” button to use this feature.
The connection always remains active, but you can always disable the function. If you turn the feature back on, the devices should reconnect automatically.
Additionally, in the “Behavior” section you can choose the features available when you use this feature, including the ability to share the clipboard and send files between both computers.
At the very bottom there are some additional key combinations that you can use to make it easier to operate both computers. You can adjust this as desired.
In addition to this “Mouse without borders” function, PowerToys offers even more functions such as:
- Copy text from an image.
- Quickly launch apps.
- Manage windows.
- Identify color with a color picker.
- Quickly rename files.
- Find the cursor quickly.
I hope this helped you. Thank you for reading!