购物车 (
Cursor Crane: Control Your Mac with Just the Keyboard
数码荔枝编辑部
When we're writing, coding or working on spreadsheets, our hands are already on the keyboard, yet we often have to move them to the mouse or trackpad just to click buttons like "Run", "Export" or "Send".
Is it possible to control our Mac entirely with the keyboard?
Keyboard shortcuts can of course handle some operations, but many buttons in software simply have no corresponding shortcut.
Cursor Crane, newly listed this week, offers a different approach: it directly assigns keyboard labels to buttons, links, input fields and other controls on screen, letting you click and navigate without ever touching the mouse.
It belongs to a common category of Mac productivity tools, and is worth a closer look for keyboard-first users who want to reduce switching between keyboard and mouse.
▲ Control your Mac without ever touching the mouse
Now available — head straight to the lizhi.shop software store to learn more about Cursor Crane, with lifetime use supported.
Perform "Clicks" with the Keyboard
Once Cursor Crane is running, short letter labels appear next to the interactive elements on your screen.
For example, if a button shows the label "DF", simply press D and F on the keyboard to click that button. No need to drag the cursor manually, and no need to remember whether the button originally had a shortcut.
This approach is especially well suited to editors, browsers and all kinds of utility software: operations that used to require "hands off the keyboard → find the mouse → move → click → back to the keyboard" can now be done by pressing a few keys.
Once you're familiar with it, you can even operate frequently used buttons straight from memory.
Locate Even What You Can't Click
Not every interface element can be recognised by the system. For example, a position within an image, a special software interface, or areas without standard controls may not display labels directly.
In such cases, you can use Grid Mode. Cursor Crane divides the screen into regions, and through a few keyboard selections progressively narrows down the area, finally moving the mouse to the specified position.
Put simply, it replaces the mouse with the keyboard for "point and click wherever you like".
▲ Grid Mode
If there is text near your target, you can also search the text on screen directly. Cursor Crane uses local OCR to find the corresponding position, then moves the cursor there. Even when an interface isn't covered by labels, there's no need to immediately reach for the mouse.
Switch Windows Without Hunting for the Cursor
Using Command + Tab to switch apps on a Mac is convenient, but the mouse cursor doesn't move along with the window.
For example, if you were just working in an editor on the left and switch to a browser on the right, the cursor may still be sitting in its original position. When you're actually ready to click, you first have to wiggle the mouse to find the cursor.
Cursor Crane can make the cursor follow the current window, and display the corresponding control labels for that window.
▲ Switching windows is easy too
For those who frequently switch between browsers, editors, chat tools and file managers, what it solves isn't "how to switch windows", but rather letting you carry on working immediately after switching, without having to reposition the mouse.
Editing Small Text Fields Made Easy
Some input fields in software are particularly small, and even slightly longer content becomes awkward to edit.
Cursor Crane's Text Portal can temporarily move the contents of these input fields into a separate editor. You can edit them normally in a larger window, and once done, the content is synced back to the original input field.
▲ Text Portal
When you need a screenshot, it can also capture a specific control or window directly, saving you the step of "screenshot the whole screen, then crop".
▲ Quickly extract text or take screenshots
Automate Repetitive Operations
If you repeat the same set of operations every day, Cursor Crane can take things further with automation.
For example, clicking several buttons in sequence, entering content, scrolling the page, waiting for loading, then continuing to the next step — all of this can be combined into a single workflow, later executed directly via a keyboard shortcut.
Simple workflows can be built by combining ready-made operations using Workflow; for more complex logic, you can also extend it with JavaScript.
Ordinary users can perfectly well use it simply as a "keyboard instead of mouse" tool — automation is an advanced feature to explore only when you have further needs.
Final Words
The problem Cursor Crane solves is actually easy to understand: operations that used to require reaching for the mouse can now be done entirely from the keyboard.
For high-frequency small operations like clicking buttons, switching controls and locating text, Cursor Crane reduces the hassle of constantly switching between keyboard and mouse.
If you spend most of your time in editors, browsers and office software — especially programmers, writers, operations staff, or users who prefer keyboard operation — you'll find its convenience all the more apparent.
Cursor Crane offers a free version, letting you experience the basic navigation and clicking features straight away; the full version also supports rich features such as multi-window elements, scrolling, text search and screenshots, and comes with a 14-day free trial.
Now available — head straight to the lizhi.shop to learn more about Cursor Crane, with lifetime use supported.
这里空空如也，暂时~