How to make the mouse pointer larger in macOS 10.12 Sierra

The pointer changes shape depending on where it is on the screen.  Most often it appears as a small black arrow with a white outline.

When the mouse pointer moves over any area where you can type it will turn into a ‘caret’  (which can be even harder to see).

Terminology:

‘Alt’ refers to the ‘Option’ key ( ⌥ )

If you have enabled ‘Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys’ under ‘Keyboard’ settings in ‘System Preferences’ then omit the ‘Fn’ key from the keyboard shortcuts shown in this article.

1. Open the ‘Apple Menu’ by clicking on the Apple icon in the top-left corner of the screen, or press ‘Fn’ + ‘Ctrl’ + ‘F2’ to highlight the Apple icon and press ‘Enter’.
2. Select ‘System Preference’ from the Apple menu as shown in Fig 1 or press the down arrow key to highlight it and then press ‘Enter’.
   
   Fig 1.
3. In the ‘System Preferences’ window, choose ‘Accessibility’ or press ‘Tab’ repeatedly (you might need to press ‘Fn’ + ‘Ctrl’ + ‘F7’ first) to cycle through the icons until the ‘Accessibility’ icon is highlighted with a blue border as shown in Fig 2 and then press the ‘Spacebar’.
   
   Fig 2.
4. In the left-hand column of the Accessibility preferences window, select ‘Display’ under the ‘Vision’ section or press ‘Tab’ to highlight one of the options and use the arrow keys to select the ‘Display’ item, see Fig 3.
5. In the right-hand column, click on the ‘Cursor Size:’ slider to change the pointer size, or press ‘Tab’ until the slider is highlighted and use the left and right arrow keys to select your pointer size.
   
   Fig 3.
6. When you are happy with your pointer size click the ‘Close’ (red) button at the top of the ‘Accessibility’ window or press ‘Cmd’ + ‘W’ to close the window.

Note: If this does not work it could be because your computer settings are managed by someone else (an IT department or administrator for example). If this is the case you will need to contact them to access these settings or for further help.