T 'n' T: Stupid Mouse Tricks Move Quicker, Click Less, Get More Done Gregg Keizer
Mon 4/22/02 -- Master the mouse and you master Windows. While the keyboard's crucial, the mouse is no less important as a link between you and the weirdness that goes on inside your PC.
So here at Tips 'n' Tricks headquarters, I collect stupid mouse tricks -- as well as not-so-stupid ways to save time and keystrokes. Five of my favorites follow. Got some of your own? E-mail them -- or just a wish list of mouse moves -- to me and I'll run them through our rodent research lab, or find a way to help you become a mouse maven.
Big Web text for tired eyes. Got a scrolling-wheel mouse? You can use it not only to move back and forth in documents, but to change text size on the fly when viewing Web sites in Internet Explorer. I love this tip, since some sites use fonts only readable with electron microscopes. Want to enlarge or shrink browser text? Simply press and hold the Ctrl key (using your non-mouse hand), then scroll the mouse wheel down (toward you) to enlarge text or up (away from you) to reduce it.
Click flick. Too often, software mouse enhancers are time-wasters that do tricks nobody needs. MouseTool, however, is a clever exception: This free utility (its creator asks you to donate $20 to your favorite charity in lieu of a registration fee) clicks the mouse for you whenever you pause the pointer. No more clicks. Talk about a time-saver!
There are some caveats, of course, most of which require you to change your mouse-moving habits a bit. When MouseTool's active, it's all too easy to click in a Web page whenever your pointer hesitates over a link. You can solve this by parking the pointer in a "safe" area, such as the toolbar or on the desktop, or by configuring MouseTool to disable the auto-click function for specific applications such as Internet Explorer. Anyway, it's highly recommended.
Punt puny pointers. Have a hard time spotting the mouse pointer? Do what I do and change the pointer scheme to increase its size or change it to a more noticeable graphic. From the Start menu, select Settings/Control Panel/Mouse, then click the Pointers tab. In the top section, pick a new pointer scheme from the drop-down list and click OK. I use Windows Standard (Large) on my main machine, whose 1,280 by 1,024 screen resolution made the usual pointer a mere pinprick.
If your PC doesn't show alternate mouse schemes, head to this page on the Microsoft Product Support Services site to download eight schemes for Windows 95/98/Me/NT.
Lock and load. Windows Me and XP sport something called ClickLock, a built-in accessibility feature that's handy for everyone. ClickLock lets you highlight or drag without holding down the mouse button. (I use it to select swaths of text in Word with just a couple of pointer moves.) With ClickLock engaged, you simply click and hold the mouse button for a moment (the moment's length is user-definable), then move the pointer to select or drag. Click again to release.
In Win Me or XP, choose Settings/Control Panel/Mouse, then click the Button tab and check the "Turn on ClickLock" box at the bottom. To set the click-and-hold period, click the Settings button. (Some mouse drivers, such as Microsoft's own IntelliMouse, put ClickLock in a different place -- in IntelliMouse 4.0, see the Activities tab.)
Ow, that hurts! The more you use a mouse, the greater stress you put on your wrist. I should know; I have a repetitive stress injury (RSI), commonly called carpal tunnel syndrome, on my right wrist due to nearly 20 years of mousing around. (Damn the Mac; it all started in 1984.)
I'm no ergonomic expert, but I have found some great tips on the Net for healthy cursor control. Check out this page at Cornell University, or this one from York University in Toronto.
