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Whiskers(R) for Shareware User Manual Numbers & Co. 193 Golden Rd. Oroville, WA 98844 509-476-2216 (C) 1989-1995 Numbers & Co. All Rights Reserved. Whiskers(R) is a registered trademark of Numbers & Co. Information in this manual is subject to change without notice. Copyright of the software described in this manual is owned by Numbers & Co. and is protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Numbers & Co. shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of the use or misuse of this product. Copies of this SHAREWARE version of Whiskers(R) may be given to your friends and uploaded to bulletin boards. You are strongly encouraged to register your copy. See the "Starting and Registering Whiskers" section below for how to register. Dealers and Distribution Houses should contact Numbers & Co. before distributing this product. Credits ------- Any brand or product names mentioned in this manual are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Technical Support ----------------- For technical support, call (509) 476-2216 Table of Contents (use a text editor to search for these headings, sorry...no page numbers) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 What You Can Do with Whiskers 2 Getting Started How to Use This Manual System Requirements Installing the Whiskers Program Uninstalling the Whiskers Program Starting and Registering Whiskers Turning Whiskers Off and On Using the Whiskers System Menu 3 Using the Options Dialog Box 4 Using the College Dialog Box 5 Working with MouseTraps What Is a MouseTrap? Types of MouseTraps Suggestions for Application MouseTraps Copying an Existing MouseTrap to a New One Creating a New, Blank MouseTrap Programming a MouseTrap Editing a MouseTrap Deleting a MouseTrap 6 Excluding a Button in a Program Appendices ---------- Appendix A. Custom Whiskers Actions Appendix B. Troubleshooting - Whiskers Appendix C. Technical Info Appendix D. Troubleshooting - Mouse hardware Glossary 1 What You Can Do with Whiskers ------------------------------- Whiskers for Shareware lets you set up the buttons of your mouse and the keys of your keyboard to operate in virtually any way you want. For example, you can set up the right mouse button to be the [Enter] key. Then you can select the OK button in dialog boxes very quickly just by pressing the right mouse button. To do this you will set MouseTraps. You may create special Application MouseTraps that simplify your work in the applications you like to use. You can also make the mouse buttons execute the commands you use most often, like Copy, Cut, and Paste. Whiskers will even let you set up one mouse button to do the left-double-click sequence. This will save you time, strain on your wrist and fingers, and the frustration of having to repeat the sequence because you did it too fast or too slow. You can use combinations of the mouse buttons, or use the mouse buttons and keyboard keys in combination with the [Shift], [Ctrl], and [Alt] keys, to simulate other keystrokes or execute other commands. For example, you could set up [Ctrl]+Right-button to be Copy and [Shift]+Right-button to be Paste or [Shift]+[F4] to be FileOpen. Using Whiskers, you will make fewer mistakes because it takes fewer steps to do the commands. You can assign any of the over 90 Extended ANSI characters to any button, key, or shift combination. In fact, Whiskers will let you redefine any key on the keyboard and even redefine the whole keyboard if you want. And you can set up all these definitions and combinations differently for each Windows application you use. In the COMMERCIAL version of Whiskers, "Whiskers(R) for Windows", you can also create popup menus, program launchers and user defined macros. These items can be assigned to any button or key as described above. Whiskers(R) for Windows also provides a three button Windows mouse driver that will work with most three button mice. This driver activates the middle button so that Windows and Whiskers can access it (many mouse manufacturers do not provide a Windows three button driver with thier three button mice). Press the Invoice button in the about box for information on how to obtain the COMMERCIAL version of Whiskers. 2 Getting Started ----------------- How to Use This Manual ---------------------- Follow the installation instructions in order. Then browse through the other sections to see what you can do. Experiment with the instructions. While you are experimenting, you may create MouseTraps that you do not want to keep permanently. If so, you can simply delete them. Manual representations ---------------------- Key names (such as [Ctrl] and [Enter]) are in square brackets. Refer to the Glossary for terms, such as "shift combinations." What you need to know --------------------- To use this manual, you must be familiar with basic Windows operations. Refer to the Windows User Manual for instruction on: Clicking, double-clicking, and dragging the mouse. Selecting menus and items on menus. Using check boxes, list boxes, text boxes, buttons, and slider bars. System Requirements ------------------- In order to install Whiskers on your system, you must have: An IBM-compatible personal computer running Microsoft Windows. Microsoft Windows, version 3.0 or higher. A 2-button or 3-button mouse, or other pointing device compatible with Windows 3.0 or higher. At least 35 kilobytes of free memory in the Windows environment. The amount of additional memory required depends on the size and number of saved MouseTraps (see Section 5 for information on MouseTraps). Installing the Whiskers Program ------------------------------- To install Whiskers, first you install the Whiskers program, and then you install the Whiskers icon. This section explains how to do both those procedures. If you reinstall Windows or install a different version of Windows, you must reinstall Whiskers afterward. If you put a new mouse on your system and the mouse comes with a Windows driver, you must reinstall Whiskers after you install the new driver. Before you install: 1. Make sure Windows 3.0 or higher is installed on your hard disk. 2. Delete from your hard disk all the files used by any earlier shareware versions of Whiskers (whiskers.exe and whiskers.dll). Combining the files from the current version of Whiskers and an earlier one will cause operational problems. 3. Use the DOS diskcopy command or the Windows File Manager to copy all the files and the subdirectory structure from the Whiskers program diskette to a backup diskette. If you acquired Whiskers by downloading a zip file from a bulletin board then you probably do not need to make a backup diskette. To install Whiskers: 1. Start your computer, and start Windows. 2. Insert the back-up Whiskers diskette in the appropriate drive (A: or B:) and close the drive door. If you have a zip file from a bulletin board then you can install from the directory where you unzipped (see below). 3. In the Windows Program Manager, select the File menu, then the Run command. 4. Use one of the following commands: a:install [Enter] (if you used Drive A), or b:install [Enter] (if you used Drive B), or <directory you unzipped in>\install [Enter] 5. The screens that appear will lead you through the installation procedure. They will ask you for the following information: Whether you want to install, uninstall, or cancel the procedure. (Choose Install here.) The full path for the Whiskers directory (if you are in doubt, accept the default, which is c:\windows\whiskers). If you want to use a different path, press [Del] and then type the correct drive and directory (you cannot install onto the distribution disk or the directory you unzipped in). Whether to install just the program files, just the SuperMouse Driver, or both. If you are in doubt, make sure both boxes are checked. If you do not install the SuperMouse Driver, you will not have access to the left-double-click, chording, nor simulation of the middle button for a two-button mouse. 6. Wait while Whiskers copies all its files to your directory. Then when the program is installed, left-click on Restart Windows to automatically restart Windows so you can use Whiskers. To install the Whiskers icon in Windows: 1. Determine the Windows program group where you want to place the Whiskers icon. For example, you might want to place it in Accessories. If you want to change it later, it is easy to move the icon from one group to another. Just left-click on the icon and drag it to the group where you want it. 2. Left-click on the window of the group you have chosen for the Whiskers icon. 3. In the Program Manager, select the File menu, then select the New command. The New Program Object dialog box appears. 4. Make sure the Program Item radio button is selected, then left-click on OK to display the Program Item Properties box. 5. In the Description box, type the text that you want to appear under the Whiskers icon. For example, type "Whiskers". 6. Left-click in the Command Line box, then left-click the Browse button to display the Browse screen. In this screen, you identify the program whose icon you want to create. 7. On the Browse screen, in the Directories list box (the large box on the right), left-double-click on the drive and then again on the directory where Whiskers is installed (for example, click on [c], then whiskers). 8. In the Files list box (the large box on the left), left-double-click on whiskers.exe. 9. When the Program Item Properties box reappears, left-click on OK to complete the procedure. Notice that the Whiskers icon now appears in the program group you selected in Step 2. Uninstalling the Whiskers Program --------------------------------- Normally, you will not remove Whiskers from the hard disk, but if you do need to, use the procedures in this section to remove both the Whiskers program and the icon. To remove Whiskers from your hard disk: 1. Start your computer, and start Windows. 2. In the Program Manager Windows, select the File menu, then select the Run command. 3. Insert the back-up Whiskers diskette in the appropriate drive (A: or B:) and close the drive door. 4. Use one of the following commands: a:install [Enter] (if you used Drive A), or b:install [Enter] (if you used Drive B), or <directory you unzipped in>\install [Enter] 5. When the installation dialog appears, left-click on Uninstall, or, if you decide not to uninstall Whiskers, left-click on Cancel. 6. The next screen displays the full path where Whiskers is installed. Make sure the box beside "Delete all Whiskers files" is checked. Then click on Uninstall, or press [Enter]. 7. When the Whiskers program and all its files are successfully removed from the hard disk, click on Restart Windows. To delete the Whiskers icon: 1. Left-click on the Whiskers icon in the program group where it appears. 2. Press the [Del] key on the keyboard, then left-click on Yes. Starting and Registering Whiskers --------------------------------- Whiskers is an icon program. This means that when you run it, it simply appears as an icon at the bottom of the screen. Whiskers does not have a window that appears on the screen like Excel or Word for Windows. To start Whiskers from the Program Manager: Left-double-click on the Whiskers icon. To have Whiskers start automatically each time you start Windows: Refer to the instructions in Section 3, "Using the Options Dialog Box". If you have not registered your copy of Whiskers an Evaluation/Registration dialog will appear before Whiskers begins operation. If you are just trying out Whiskers to see if you like it press the Evaluate button. Enter the 10 digit Evaluation Number exactly as it appears in the dialog into the box at the bottom. Press Ok and Whiskers will run if the evaluation number was entered correctly. If you decide you want to use Whiskers you can register your copy and permanantly remove the Evaluation/Registration dialog. Start Whiskers as usual and press the Evaluate button. Then press the Invoice button. The NOTEPAD.EXE editor that comes with Windows will be run and will automatically load INVOICE.TXT from your Whiskers installation directory. Edit the fields for registering Whiskers or, if you like, you can order the COMMERCIAL version of Whiskers, Whiskers(R) for Windows described above, by editing the appropriate fields (the commercial version is NOT shareware and does not require a registration number). Print the invoice using NOTEPAD's print command in its File menu. Send Numbers & Co. the first page along with appropriate payment. A registration invoice containing a registration number will be sent back to you. When you have a registration number, run Whiskers and press the Register button. Enter your name and registration number exactly as they appear on your registration invoice in the appropriate boxes of the dialog. If you entered the information correctly, Whiskers will run after pressing Ok. The next time Whiskers is run, the Evaluation/Registration dialog will not appear and Whiskers will begin operation immediately. Your registration invoice should be stored in a safe place in case you need your registration number again at a later time or if you need other information about your order. The registration number is unique and assigned ONLY to you. You should keep it private and not allow others to see it or use it. Turning Whiskers Off and On --------------------------- When the Whiskers icon is at the bottom of the screen, it can appear either as a dark Whiskers "W" mouse shape or as a grayed outline. The dark icon indicates that the mouse has been captured and Whiskers is running (Whiskers is always turned on when you first start it). To turn Whiskers off, left-double-click on the icon. The icon is now grayed and Whiskers is off. To turn it back on, left-double click on the icon again. Using the Whiskers System Menu ------------------------------ You can customize Whiskers and set up the definitions for buttons and keys through the commands on the Whiskers menu. To display the Whiskers System menu: Left-click once on the Whiskers icon at the bottom of the screen. Or, if the Whiskers icon is hidden, press [Alt] and the left mouse button together and release them quickly. (Refer to Section 3 to find out how to hide the icon.) To select a menu command: Left-click on the name of the command, or press the keyboard key that corresponds to the underlined letter in the command. Experiment with the commands on the menu to see what they do... Turn Whiskers OFF This command appears on the menu only when Whiskers is on. Left-click on it to turn Whiskers off. Turn Whiskers ON This command appears on the menu only when Whiskers is off. Left-click on it to turn Whiskers on. Options This command displays the Whiskers Options dialog box, which contains the settings for customizing Whiskers. For information on setting the options, refer to Section 3, "Using the Options Dialog Box." College This command displays the Whiskers College dialog box, from which you program all the mouse buttons, keyboard keys, and shift combinations. For more information about using this box, refer to Section 4, "Using the College Dialog Box." Move This command changes the arrow cursor to the Whiskers icon so you can move it to another location on the screen. Move it to the new location and left-click the mouse to anchor it in place. The cursor changes back to an arrow. Close This command closes the Whiskers program. To open it again, left-double-click on the Whiskers icon in the Program Manager. Switch to... This command displays the Task Manager to allow you to switch to another application. About... This command displays the About Whiskers dialog box. This box contains information about the version of Whiskers you are using and ordering/registering information. 3 Using the Options Dialog Box ------------------------------ The Options command displays the Whiskers Options dialog box, which contains the options for customizing basic Whiskers operations. To display the Options dialog box: 1. Display the Whiskers System Menu. 2. Left-click on Options to display the Whiskers Options dialog box. To set the options: 1. Use the instructions that follow, for the option you want to change. 2. When you are satisfied with the settings, left-click on Ok to have the changes take effect. Or, left-click on Cancel to leave the settings as they were before you made any changes. Experiment with the buttons in the dialog to see what they do... Auto-load Whiskers at Windows start-up Check this box to have Whiskers start automatically whenever Windows starts up. Remove the check to have Windows start without Whiskers. Hide Whiskers Icon when auto-loaded This option works only when you also choose to have Whiskers auto-loaded with Windows. Check this box to hide the Whiskers icon whenever Whiskers is started automatically with Windows. This helps to keep your screen uncluttered. The standard icon will still appear in the program group where you placed it when you installed Whiskers. To restore (unhide) the icon, Left-double-click on the Whiskers icon in the Program Manager or display the Whiskers System Menu (by using the [Alt]+Left-button combination), select Options, remove the check beside Hide Whiskers Icon when auto-loaded, then left-click on Ok. The command to display the Whiskers System Menu was assigned to the [Alt]+Left-button shift combination in the Default MouseTrap that came with Whiskers. If you change this assignment, use your new assignment instead of [Alt]-Left-button. Refer to Section 5 for more information on MouseTraps. Chording/Click Delay Time Pressing two or three mouse buttons at the same time is called chording. Since it is unlikely that you will press all the buttons in a chord at exactly the same time, Whiskers waits a small amount of time after you press the first button to see if you press another button. If you do press another within a set time (the Delay Time), Whiskers interprets the combination as a chord. If not, Whiskers executes the button commands in sequence. If you have trouble clicking the buttons close enough together to make a chord, you may want to slow down the Delay time. To give yourself more time to chord, drag the button on the slider bar toward "slow". If you notice a delay after you press a button before your command happens, you may need to speed up the Delay Time. To speed it up, move the button toward "fast". Chording Travel It is almost impossible for the average person to press two or more buttons on a mouse at the same time without some small amount of movement. The amount of mouse movement that Whiskers will tolerate when you use a chord is called "travel." You can set the amount of travel with this slider bar. If the travel is set all the way to the right, any mouse movement during a chord will cause the chord not to work. Moving the button on the slider bar toward "lots" allows more mouse movement while you are pressing the buttons in a chord. To move the slider bar, click and drag it to the new position. Experiment with the two chording slider bars to see what works best for you. 4 Using the College Dialog Box ------------------------------ The College command allows you to teach the mouse and keyboard new tricks by setting MouseTraps. It displays the Whiskers College dialog box, from which you program the mouse buttons, keyboard keys, and shift-key combinations to perform specific actions. Refer to Sections 5 and 6 for complete instructions on creating and working with MouseTraps. To display the dialog box: 1. Display the Whiskers System Menu. 2. Left-click on College to display the Whiskers College dialog box. The buttons and boxes on the Whiskers College dialog box are briefly defined on the following pages. Sections 5 and 6 give detailed instructions for using them to create and work with MouseTraps. You may find the following definitions confusing before you have worked with them in Sections 5 and 6. If, so, skip this section and use the definitions for reference later. The top of the dialog box: Whiskers Icon The icon is located in the upper left corner of the screen. You use it when you create a MouseTrap. MouseTrap Name This dropdown text box is just to the right of the icon. As you create MouseTraps, their names appear in this list. When you first display this dialog box, the name that appears in this text box is "Default", the MouseTrap that comes with Whiskers. Left-click the arrow button at the right edge of the box to display the full list of MouseTraps (there will only be one until you create more). New You use this button when you create a new MouseTrap. The new MouseTrap has no buttons or keys programmed. Save As You use this button when you save the displayed MouseTrap with a new name. Delete You use this button to remove a MouseTrap from the list of MouseTraps. If you accidentally delete a MouseTrap that you did not want to delete, click on the "Cancel to last Save" button to exit the dialog box and undo your delete. Button to Program This is a list of the mouse buttons, chords, and keys you can program with Whiskers. To scroll through the entire list just to browse, use the scroll bar at the right of the list box. To select any item, left-click on it. To select a specific item, click anywhere in the list box, then type the first letter of the item you want. For example, type "L" to select the Left Mouse Button. Press "L" again to scroll through the list to the next item beginning with "L". A small square bullet appears next to the left of each button and chord that has already been programmed in the current MouseTrap. To move forward from one programmed item to the next, left-click anywhere in the list, then press the right arrow key (use the left arrow key to move backwards). + Shift Keys To the right of the Button To Program list box is a column that lists the eight shift-key combinations you can use with each of the mouse buttons and chords in the Button to Program box. The [Shift], [Ctrl], and [Alt] keys are all considered shift keys. Each of the keys and key combinations in this column refers to the dropdown list box beside it. = This Action This column of dropdown list boxes, also called the Action Listboxes, is where you define the action with each of the buttons, chords, and keys with each of the shift combinations. Sections 5 and 6 explain how to use the list boxes as you work with MouseTraps. Entries in the Action Listboxes show the actions each shift combination will perform for the button or key highlighted in the Button to Program box. So, for instance, if you move the highlighter bar from Right Mouse Button to Middle Mouse Button, the entries in the Action Listboxes will change to show the programming for the middle button. Done After you have changed information in the Whiskers College dialog box, left-click on this button to save the changes and exit the box. Save After you have changed information on the Whiskers College dialog box, left-click on this button to save the changes, but leave the box open. If you are doing a lot of work in the Whiskers College dialog box, you will probably want to save occasionally without exiting the dialog box. Cancel to the last Save This button is like an Undo or Quit command. You use it when you do not want to save changes you made in the Whiskers College dialog box. Left-click on this button to close the Whiskers College dialog box without saving any changes you made to it since the last time you used the Save button. 5 Working with MouseTraps ------------------------- What Is a MouseTrap? A MouseTrap is a set of programmed actions assigned to some or all of the buttons, chords, and keys listed in the Button to Program list box (and for their shift combinations). You can set up any number of MouseTraps you want. It is particularly handy to set up different MouseTraps for the different Windows applications you use. Then, whenever you start an application, the mouse buttons, keyboard keys, and shift combinations operate according to the definitions you programmed for its MouseTrap. The Default MouseTrap is the one that comes preprogrammed with Whiskers. Open the College dialog by selecting the College command from the Whiskers System Menu. In the Button to Program list box, Right Mouse Button is highlighted when the dialog first opens. The columns to the right show the actions programmed for the shift combinations of the right mouse button. So, when you click the right mouse button by itself (No Shift), it is just like pressing the [Enter] key. Using [Shift]+Right-button is just like using the Cut command common in many Windows applications. Notice that the last four shift combinations are not programmed. This means that when you use one of these combinations, Whiskers does not affect the operation. If you left-click on Left Mouse Button in the Button to Program list box, the actions in the Action Listboxes change to those defined for the shift combinations of the left button. The Button to Program list box lists each button, chord, and keyboard key. This means that for the Default MouseTrap, and for each MouseTrap you create, you can define an action for each of the eight shift combinations for each button, chord and keyboard key. Note these limitations on MouseTraps: The [Esc] and [Pause-Break] keys cannot be assigned to shift combinations that include the [Ctrl] key. Windows assigns special meaning to the [Ctrl]+[Esc] and [Ctrl]+[Pause-Break] keys and overrides Whiskers programming. The [Print Screen] key is controlled by Windows and does not appear on any of the Whiskers action lists. Types of MouseTraps ------------------- Whiskers includes two built-in MouseTraps: the Default MouseTrap and the System Modal MouseTrap. You can create additional MouseTraps that work with your Windows applications. These are called "Application MouseTraps". Default MouseTrap ----------------- The Default MouseTrap is the foundation MouseTrap. It is active whenever Whiskers is on and no application MouseTrap is active. If the Default MouseTrap is active, its name appears when you display the Whiskers College dialog box. Because it is the foundation MouseTrap, you cannot change its name. However, you can change the way the buttons and keys work in it. By programming the Default with the standard button and key actions you want to use throughout your Windows applications, you can standardize your keystrokes in Windows. Then, you can copy the Default MouseTrap to Application MouseTraps and, in them, program the additional buttons and keys you want to use only within specific applications. When an application (such as Word for Windows or Excel) for which you have created an Application MouseTrap is active, the Application MouseTrap overrides the Default MouseTrap. System Modal MouseTrap ---------------------- This MouseTrap never appears in the MouseTrap Name listbox, but it is active whenever a system modal dialog box is active. System modal dialog boxes are those that are automatically displayed by Windows. They lock up the screen, and you must respond to them before you can continue your work. For example, system modal boxes include the Close box that appears when Windows is shut down, the message box that appears when Windows cannot read from a drive ("Can't read from drive A:"), the message box that appears saying the Print Manager cannot print to the printer. The System Modal MouseTrap programs the right mouse button as the [Enter] key and the Middle Mouse Button as the [Tab] key. You cannot change the name of the System Modal MouseTrap, nor can you change its programmed definitions. However, if you define [Enter] to be a different shift combination in the Default MouseTrap, the System Modal MouseTrap will use that definition also. If you change the Default MouseTrap so that the [Enter] key is no longer defined in it, the System Modal MouseTrap will use its original definitions. Application MouseTraps ---------------------- An application MouseTrap is one that you create to work with a specific application. An application MouseTrap becomes active whenever you are using the Windows application it was created for, that is, whenever its title bar is highlighted. For example, if you create a Word for Windows MouseTrap, then whenever you are using Word for Windows, the mouse buttons and keyboard keys work the way you programmed them for the Word for Windows MouseTrap. When an application MouseTrap is active, it takes control of the shift combinations defined in it. The Default MouseTrap becomes inactive, and the application MouseTrap's button and key assignments override any definitions assigned by the application. You can create limited-use MouseTraps for non-windows applications running in a Windowed DOS box. Only the programming for non-shift mouse buttons and chords work. Suggestions for Application MouseTraps -------------------------------------- When you create a MouseTrap for a specific Windows application, you program the way the buttons, chords, keys, and shift combinations work while that application is active. Then each time the application becomes active (even if it is minimized, that is, active in its icon form), Whiskers activates the application's MouseTrap. You can create a new MouseTrap in either of these ways: Use the New button to create a new, blank Application MouseTrap. Then program all the shift combinations you want to use in that application. or Use the "Save as" button to create a copy of an existing MouseTrap to be used with a different application. Then, if you want, change some of the actions assigned to the shift combinations. This is handy when you want to use the same MouseTrap definitions, or almost the same definitions, for two applications. Recommended approach to creating application MouseTraps ------------------------------------------------------- To provide some standardization of button and key operations throughout all your Windows applications, use these guidelines when you create MouseTraps: Before you create any application MouseTraps, edit the Default MouseTrap. Assign to its shift combinations the operations that you will want to use throughout all your Windows applications. When you create an application MouseTrap, do so by copying your new version of the Default MouseTrap to a new name (See "Copying an Existing MouseTrap to a New One"). Then, in the application MouseTrap, change those shift combinations that you want to work differently when you are using the application. Create new, blank application MouseTraps only for those applications in which you want the majority of buttons and keys to work differently from the way they do in the rest of your Windows applications. Copying an Existing MouseTrap to a New One ------------------------------------------ Normally, use this procedure to create a new application MouseTrap, so that your buttons and keys work somewhat the same from application to application. Make a copy of the Default MouseTrap and add new shift combination operations for the specific application. To create a new application MouseTrap by copying an existing MouseTrap: 1. Start the Windows application for which you want to create a new MouseTrap. 2. You may minimize the application or leave it on part of the screen in window mode. 3. Display the Whiskers System Menu. 4. Left-click on College to display the Whiskers College dialog box. 5. If necessary, move the Whiskers College dialog box so that you can see some part of the application's icon or window. 6. Left-click on the arrow beside the MouseTrap Name box to display the list of MouseTraps, then left-click on the name of the MouseTrap you want to copy. 7. Position the arrow cursor over the Whiskers icon at the top left corner of the Whiskers College dialog box. Press and hold down the left mouse button, drag the icon to the application's icon or window, and release the mouse button. Do not change the name that Whiskers gives to the application MouseTrap. 8. After you complete Step 7, the name for the new MouseTrap will appear in the MouseTrap Name box (for example, winword.exe for Word for Windows). Left-click on "Save as" to save the existing MouseTrap as a new MouseTrap with the new name. 9. Use the instructions in "Programming a MouseTrap" to define the shift combinations for your new MouseTrap. Creating a New, Blank MouseTrap ------------------------------- Use this procedure to create a new MouseTrap only for applications in which you want the majority of buttons and keys to work differently from the way they do in the rest of your Windows applications. To create a new, blank application MouseTrap: 1. Start the Windows application for which you want to create a new, empty MouseTrap. 2. You may minimize the application or leave it on part of the screen in window mode. 3. Display the Whiskers System Menu. 4. Left-click on College to display the Whiskers College dialog box. 5. If necessary, move the Whiskers College dialog box so that you can see some part of the application's icon or window. 6. Position the arrow cursor over the Whiskers icon at the top left corner of the Whiskers College dialog box. Press and hold down the left mouse button, drag the icon to the application's icon or window, and release the mouse button. The name for the new MouseTrap will appear in the MouseTrap Name box. Do not change the name that Whiskers gives to the application MouseTrap. 7. Left-click the New button. All the shift combinations of the new MouseTrap are automatically set to "Not Programmed." 8. Use the instructions in "Programming a MouseTrap" to program the shift combinations for your new MouseTrap. Programming a MouseTrap ----------------------- Programming a MouseTrap means defining the action to be performed for each shift combination of each button, chord, and key when that MouseTrap is active. The list of available actions appears, exactly the same, in each of the Action Listboxes in the Whiskers College dialog box. When you first create an Application MouseTrap, use the instructions that follow to program the MouseTrap. After you use your Application MouseTrap, use these same instructions if you want to change some of the programming or add programming to new shift combinations. To program the shift combinations for a MouseTrap: 1. In the Whiskers College dialog box, left-click on the arrow beside the MouseTrap Name box to display the list of MouseTraps, then left-click on the name of the MouseTrap you want to program. 2. In the Button to Program list box, left-click on the button, chord, or key you want to program. Use the scroll bar, left and right arrow keys, and [PgUp] and [PgDn] to scroll through the list until the button, key, or chord you want appears, then left-click on it. Or, click in the list box, press the first letter of a button, chord, or key's name to move to the first one that begins with that letter, continue pressing that letter until the item you want appears, then left-click on its name. You can move backwards through the list by pressing [Shift] plus the letter. 3. Determine the shift combination you want to use with that button, chord, or key, and left-click on the arrow to the right of the corresponding Action Listbox. 4. Determine the action you want to assign to that shift combination. Use the scroll bar, left and right arrow keys, and [PgUp] and [PgDn] to scroll through the list until the action you want appears, then left-click on it. Or, click in the list box, press the first letter of the action's name to move to the first one that begins with that letter, continue pressing that letter until the action you want appears, then left-click on its name. For example, to select File Save, press the "F" key on the keyboard to auto-scroll to the F section. Keep pressing the "F" key on the keyboard to move forward through the F section until File Save appears. Then left-click on File Save to select it. You can move backwards through the list by pressing [Shift] plus the letter. 5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for each shift combination you want to program for the button, chord, or key you selected in Step 2. 6. Repeat Steps 2 through 5 for each button, chord, or key you want to program for the MouseTrap you selected in Step 1. Make sure you exclude all the application's shift combinations that you want to use in the way the application defined them (refer to Section 6). Editing a MouseTrap ------------------- You can change the programming of a MouseTrap, and the changes take effect immediately when you left-click on Save or Done. To edit a MouseTrap: 1. In the Whiskers College dialog box, left-click on the down arrow to the right of the MouseTrap Name. A list of the current MouseTraps appears. 2. Left-click on the name of the MouseTrap you want to edit. 3. In the Button to Program list box, select the button, chord, or key for which you want to change the programming. 4. Select the Action Listbox beside the shift combination you want to edit. 5. In that Action Listbox, select the new action. Deleting a MouseTrap -------------------- When you decide you will no longer need a MouseTrap, delete it to save disk space and to reduce the amount of memory used by Whiskers. To delete a MouseTrap: 1. In the Whiskers College dialog box, left-click on the arrow beside the MouseTrap Name box to display the list of MouseTraps, then left-click on the name of the MouseTrap you want to delete. 2. Left-click on the Delete button. If you accidentally delete a MouseTrap that you did not want to delete, click on the "Cancel to last Save" button to exit the dialog box and undo your delete. Excluding a Button in a Program ------------------------------- Some applications already have actions assigned to some of the shift combinations. For example, in many Windows applications, the [Alt]+[F4] combination exits the program. And, in some applications, you may have keystrokes already assigned to shift combinations through the application's macro capabilities. When Whiskers is running, Whiskers will override these definitions. So, when you program your MouseTraps, be sure to exclude all the shift combinations you want to retain as they are defined by the application or by your application macros. To exclude a shift combination for a specific application: 1. In the Whiskers College dialog box, select the application's MouseTrap in the MouseTrap Name box. 2. Select the button or key in the Button to Program list box. 3. Select the shift combination you want to exclude and set it to "Not Programmed." Appendices ---------- Appendix A. Custom Whiskers Actions ---------------------------------- This section explains some of the actions (in the Action Listboxes) specially developed for Whiskers. Chording A chord is produced by pressing two or more mouse buttons at the same time. For example, to produce Chord 1, press the left and middle mouse buttons together. For all the buttons on a three-button mouse to operate, you must have a Windows-based three-button mouse driver. The driver makes your middle button active, so you can program it in Whiskers. A three-button mouse with a three-button driver can produce four chords. If your three-button mouse does not have a Windows three-button mouse driver, contact the mouse manufacturer and request a Windows three-button driver to install on your system. Two-button mice can only produce one chord, left+right. This chord is the one used to simulate the middle button on two-button mice and will be listed as the Middle Button in the Button to Program list box. Because two-button mice cannot do any other chording, the Chord 0 through Chord 3 entries in the list box will be grayed out. Copy & Drop This action copies the selected text and drops (pastes) the copy at the location of the cursor. For example, using any word processor, assign Copy & Drop to the Middle Mouse Button, select some text, and move the cursor to another place in the document. Now click the middle mouse button, and a copy of the selected text will appear where the cursor was. Drag & Drop This action drags an application window or icon to a new location, without your holding down the mouse button. For example, with Drag & Drop assigned to the Middle Mouse Button, click the middle button on the title bar of an application or on an icon, then move the cursor across the screen. The application window or icon will move with the cursor, even though you are not holding the button down. Now click any mouse button and the application window or icon will drop at that place. Extended ANSI Characters Whiskers gives you direct access to any of the over 90 Extended ANSI characters. You can assign any of them to any shift combination. For example, assign the copyright symbol to the [Alt]+[F9] combination in a word processor's MouseTrap. Then when you use that key combination, Whiskers inserts a copyright symbol. Left-Double-Click Whiskers can do a left-double-click with a single mouse button click or any shift combination. In the Default MouseTrap that comes with Whiskers, the left-double-click is assigned to the middle-button (without any shift). Using a single click to perform the double-click action can ease the wrist strain of using the mouse button, thus reducing the problem of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Middle Button Simulation If you have a two-button mouse, you can simulate a middle-click by pressing the left and right buttons at the same time. In MouseTraps, Whiskers will treat the simulated Middle Mouse Button as if it were the real middle button on a three-button mouse. Num Pad Enter This action is used in some terminal emulation packages that allow you to access a mainframe through your personal computer. It is the action of pressing the [Enter] key on the numeric keypad (as opposed to the general action of pressing [Enter]). Whiskers System Menu Display In the Default MouseTrap that comes with Whiskers, the [Alt]+Left-button combination is programmed to display the Whiskers System Menu. Once this menu is displayed, you can change your option settings or edit your MouseTraps. This action is a quick way to display the menu when you are working in an application or when your Whiskers icon is hidden. When you use this shift combination, be sure to release the [Alt] key quickly. If you hold the [Alt] key down too long, the Whiskers System Menu will flash up on the screen and then quickly disappear. Appendix B. Troubleshooting - Whiskers -------------------------------------- If you have a problem with Whiskers, first check to make sure it is turned on. If it is, check your active MouseTrap to make sure it is programmed as you expected. Problems you may encounter are listed below and on the following pages. After each problem is an explanation or a suggested solution. [Alt]+Left Mouse Button does not display the Whiskers System Menu (or the menu just flashes on and off quickly). You may be holding down the [Alt] key too long when you use that shift combination. Try it again and release the [Alt] key very quickly. Or, you may be using an application MouseTrap in which you assigned some other function to that shift combination, or in which you assigned Not Programmed to the combination. Check the programming for the shift combination in the Whiskers College dialog box. DOS-application MouseTraps do not work correctly. This version of Whiskers has a limited capability to work in windowed DOS boxes (that is, non-Windows applications accessed through Windows). Only one DOS MouseTrap can be created; it is named winoa386.mod. Only the programming for mouse buttons and chords work in DOS boxes. None of the shift combinations work. "Out of Memory" message appears while the Whiskers College dialog box is displayed. The amount of memory Whiskers uses depends on the number and complexity of the MouseTraps you have defined. More MouseTraps, and more complex MouseTraps use up more memory. If you get the out-of-memory message: 1. Left-click on Ok in the message box. 2. Left-click on Done in the Whiskers College dialog box. 3. Display the Whiskers College dialog box again. This time, Whiskers will allow more memory for programming and editing. Special mouse functions, such as some of those used in games, do not work properly. You may want to turn Whiskers off when you play some computer games or use other applications with unique operations assigned to the mouse buttons. If you have not created a MouseTrap specifically for that application, the Default MouseTrap will be active, and its button assignments will override those of the application. Some Whiskers actions do not work in your application. Some applications do not support all of the Whiskers actions that appear in the Actions List box. For example, the Windows Cascade command does not work in Notepad, nor in Excel. Whiskers stops working when you use the Task Manager to switch to it. Notice also that the Whiskers icon is a grayed outline. This is because the Task Manager turned Whiskers off. Simply turn Whiskers back on. When the Task Manager switches to an application, it executes the equivalent of a left-double-click in the application. Normally, this is used to open the application from an icon to a window. But, because Whiskers is an icon program, this action causes Whiskers to turn off. Whiskers stops working when you use [Alt]+[Tab] to switch to it. This problem is the same as for the Task Manager. Whiskers programming seems to work erratically. If you have several MouseTraps it can seem that programming for a particular application does not work as expected all the time. This problem is usually caused by the active MouseTrap not being the one you were expecting. Make sure that the application you want to use Whiskers with is the currently active one (title bar is highlighted) so that either its MouseTrap or the default MouseTrap (if the application does not have its own MouseTrap) is used. Otherwise the MouseTrap for the application that actually is active will be used and it will seem that Whiskers is not responding properly if that MouseTrap's programming is different from the desired one. Also, it is NOT recommended to create a MouseTrap for Whiskers itself. Although allowed, it is not very useful and since this will cause Whiskers to trap itself strange and mysterious things can happen... Appendix C. Technical Info -------------------------- .TRB and .TRP Files ------------------- Whiskers stores all information about the customizing you do in a file called whiskers.trp. Each time you click on the Save or Done button, Whiskers saves the old whiskers.trp data in a backup file named whiskers.trb and then saves the new information to the whiskers.trp file. WTDRV.DRV File -------------- This file is in the Windows subdirectory. Do not delete it. The Whiskers SuperMouse Driver uses this file to talk to your old mouse driver. If you do not install the SuperMouse Driver, you will not have access to these functions: The Whiskers left-double-click standard action Chording Simulation of middle button for a two-button mouse If you install a new mouse or driver on your system, you must reinstall Whiskers' SuperMouse Driver to get the full capability of Whiskers. Refer back to Section 2 for instructions. Combining different versions of Whiskers ---------------------------------------- Combining different versions of Whiskers will cause operational problems. Do not combine this version of Whiskers with earlier versions. If you install this version over another, make sure that all the Whiskers files have the same date AND time as the ones on the distribution disk. Appendix D. Troubleshooting - Mouse hardware -------------------------------------------- Logitech Compatible Mice: If you have a DEXXA 3 button mouse you will need to get the latest Logitech Windows mouse driver. Call Logitech at 1-800-231-7717. Mouse Systems Compatible Mice: On most Mouse Systems compatible mice there is a switch to change from 2 button to 3 button mode. Sometimes the switch is labeled "PC" and "MS", sometimes "2" and "3". The PC stands for Mouse Systems and the MS stands for Microsoft. If you cannot locate a switch on the outside of your mouse, open the bottom of the mouse by removing the ball and check for a switch inside of the mouse. Some Mouse Systems compatible mice do not have a mode switch. Many of these types of mice can be placed in 3 button mode by one of the following ways: 1) A command line switch placed after the mouse command in the autoexec.bat or config.sys files. Check the documentation that came with your mouse for the correct procedure to place your mouse into three button mode. 2) If 1) does not work try the following: 1) Turn OFF your computer. 2) Hold down the LEFT button on the mouse. 3) Turn ON your computer while still holding down the LEFT button. 4) Run Windows while still holding down the LEFT button. 5) After Windows has initialized, your mouse should be in 3 button mode (you can release the LEFT button now). Glossary -------- This glossary defines terms the way they are used in this manual. Action Listbox A list box corresponding to a shift combination on the Whiskers College dialog box. You display the list by clicking on the down arrow to the right of the list box. Application MouseTrap A MouseTrap that you create to work only when a specific Windows application is active. Button A left, right, or middle button on a computer mouse. In the Button to Program list box, "button" also includes the keyboard keys. Check box A box in which you indicate your choice for an option. If an "X" appears in the box, the option is turned on. If the box is empty, the option is turned off. (Example: Auto-load Whiskers at Windows start-up" -- a Whiskers option.) Chord Two or three mouse buttons pressed at the same time. Click To press and release a mouse button quickly. Default MouseTrap The MouseTrap that comes with Whiskers. It is active whenever Whiskers is turned on and no other application MouseTrap is active. Drag To move an item across the screen by clicking on it, holding the mouse button down, and moving the mouse. Exclude To program a shift combination as "Not Programmed" so the Whiskers programming does not override the function of the shift combination within an application. Key A keyboard key. Left-double-click To click the left mouse button twice rapidly in succession. This action normally performs a different operation from a single click. List box A box that contains a list of items from which you may choose. (Example: the Button to Program list box on the Whiskers College dialog box.) MouseTrap A set of programmed actions assigned to some or all of the buttons, chords, and keys in the Button to Program list box on the Whiskers College dialog box. Save as A command that saves the data displayed on the screen and allows you to specify a new name for it. This is the way to make a copy of a MouseTrap and give the copy a new name. Shift combination The mouse buttons, chords, and keyboard keys, and the combinations of them with one or more of the [Shift], [Ctrl], and [Alt] keys. Shift keys In the Whiskers context, [Shift], [Ctrl], and [Alt] are all referred to as Shift keys. Slider bar A vertical or horizontal bar that contains a button you can drag from one end to the other to make adjustments or display different portions of a list. (Example: the slider bar by which you adjust the Chording Slop on the Whiskers Options dialog box). Text box A box in which you enter and edit text. (Example: the MouseTrap Name text box on the Whiskers College dialog box.)