MouseTool Version 1.5

-- Let me do your clicking --

For help, click on the MouseTool picture above, or one of the following options:

Welcome

What MouseTool Does

Quick Start

Smart Drag

Using the Joystick

The Options Window

The Stretch Timer

Contacting JR Software LLC or Registering MouseTool

Tips for Using MouseTool


What It Does

MouseTool does your clicking for you.

MouseTool watches as you move your mouse around the screen.  When you stop, it clicks.

Many of the injuries caused by using mice are caused by clicking the mouse buttons.  MouseTool reduces the strain of using mice, letting people with repetitive stress injuries use mice almost without pain.

"But don't you end up clicking where you shouldn't?"

Well, yes.  When you use MouseTool, you do have to pay attention to where the mouse is.  But most of the screen is safe to click on, and once you get used to using MouseTool, you barely notice that it is running.


Quick Start

Basic Use:

•	When it starts for the first time, MouseTool is turned off.  To turn it on, click once on the on/off button (the button with the red dot), and move the mouse away from the button.  The button should turn green.

•	When the dot is green, MouseTool's timer is running.  Now, whenever you pause the mouse for half a second, MouseTool will click the mouse.  Pay attention to where you stop the mouse...

Pretty straightforward.  And easy, once you get used to it.

But there’s more!  Right clicks, double clicks, and dragging ...

•	You can click on any of the Mode Change Buttons to switch between Left-, Double, and Right-click modes.

•	You can drag the mouse without a joystick using Smart Drag.

•	You can use the Reduce Button to reduce MouseTool to the size of four buttons on a toolbar.

•	You can also use a joystick to switch between click modes and to drag the mouse.

And, to remind you to take breaks,

•	MouseTool includes a Stretch Break Timer.


Using a Joystick

With a joystick, you have more control over how MouseTool generates mouse clicks.  Using the joystick gives you these options:

•	Moving the joystick to the left sets MouseTool in left-click mode (the default).

•	Moving the joystick to the right sets MouseTool in right-click mode.

•	Moving the joystick up sets MouseTool in double-click mode.

•	Moving the joystick down tells MouseTool to begin a drag.  MouseTool then holds the mouse button down until you return the joystick to the center.

If your joystick has a throttle, moving the throttle forward begins a drag, just like moving the joystick down.

You can reverse the up- and down-axes of the joystick by toggling the Reverse Response to Joystick up and down option in the Options Window

You can set Dragging Onlyto have the MouseTool not send clicks based on when you pause the mouse.  With this option, you generate clicks only through the joystick.

A note about types of joysticks:

If you use a joystick, I strongly recommend using a digital joystick.  Older analog joysticks work, but as they warm up and cool down, their calibration drifts.  If your joystick's calibration drifts a lot, you will need to periodically recalibrate the joystick.  If it drifts too much and you don't recalibrate it, MouseTool may begin behaving strangely, and it may take a lot of time to figure out why its behavior changed in mid-use.


The options window

Click on the options button to bring up the options window.

Click on any area below for help:


The Dwell Time

This is the amount of time MouseTool waits after you stop moving the mouse before it generates a click.

You can set it to any time delay you find convenient.  I find that a half second delay works well for me.  If you set the delay to less time, you won't have to wait as long for the mouse to click, but you will have more accidental clicks.


Keep MouseTool On Top

Checking this option makes MouseTool stay above other windows on the screen.


Save Current Configuration

Checking this box saves the options you have chosen, and the current position of MouseTool, so that the next time MouseTool starts, you won't have to select them again.


Joystick Options

There are three options that can be set when using MouseTool with a joystick.  None of these options are available if there is no joystick attached to the computer.

Monitor Joystick

This options enables or disables monitoring of the joystick.  If a joystick drifts or behaves erratically, you can clear this to ignore the joystick.  This is cleared by default.

Dragging Only

Check this to have MouseTool only click when you tell it to use the joystick.  (MouseTool won’t send clicks based on when you pause the mouse.) This is useful in paint programs when you want precise control over when the mouse clicks.   With a good joystick, moving the stick or sliding the throttle creates much less strain on the wrists than using the mouse.

Reverse Response to Joystick Up and Down

When this is checked, moving the joystick up will begin a drag, and moving it down will set MouseTool to double-click mode.

When using a joystick with a throttle, it may be more convenient to check this box.  When using a joystick without a throttle, it may be more convenient to not check it.


Start MouseTool when Windows Starts

If this option is enabled, MouseTool will start when Windows starts.


The Stretch Break Timer

If the stretch break timer is enabled, MouseTool will periodically tell you to take a break.  Sit back and stretch your arms.  Maybe get up and move your legs.

The time between stretches can be set in increments of one minute.  The Options dialog box shows how many minutes until the next stretch break, based on the current Minutes between stretches setting.

If the Minutes between stretches is changed, the stretch break timer begins counting from scratch again.

The stretch break timer operates independently of the rest of MouseTool.  Turning MouseTool off by clicking on the on/off button doesn't affect the stretch break timer.  To turn the timer off, you need to go to the options dialog box and uncheck the Enable Stretch Break Timer box.


Smart Drag

Smart Drag allows MouseTool to drag the mouse for you.

In order to do this, MouseTool behaves a little differently when Smart Drag is turned on:

1.	You pause the mouse.

2.	MouseTool clicks down ... but not up.

3.	MouseTool pauses, holding the button down.

4.	If you do nothing, MouseTool clicks up.  The mouse click is completed.

5.	If you move before the up, MouseTool will wait until you stop to release the mouse.

Tip: It helps to check the Audible Dragging Indicator and the Visual Dragging Indicator boxes in the Options Window when using Smart Drag.


Smart Drag

Smart Drag allows MouseTool to drag the mouse for you.

In order to do this, MouseTool behaves a little differently when Smart Drag is turned on:

1.	You pause the mouse.

2.	MouseTool clicks down ... but not up.

3.	MouseTool pauses, holding the button down.

4.	If you do nothing, MouseTool clicks up.  The mouse click is completed.

5.	If you move before the up, MouseTool will wait until you stop to release the mouse.

Tip: It helps to check the Audible Dragging Indicator and the Visual Dragging Indicator boxes when using Smart Drag.


Throttle Status

This box shows the position of the joystick’s throttle as a series of blue bars.

The throttle is used to tell MouseTool when to drag.  If MouseTool doesn’t seem to be working, check the throttle status.  There should be no blue bars unless you are dragging the mouse.

See Using the Joystick.


On/Off Button

This turns MouseTool on or off.

When the dot is green, MouseTool is running.  When it is red, MouseTool has been suspended.

This button does not affect the stretch timer.


Status Window

This box shows the current click type.

Clicking in this box will toggle MouseTool between generating left-single-clicks and generating left-double-clicks.

You can select right-mouse-clicks by using a joystick.


Welcome

Thank you for trying MouseTool!  I hope you get as much use out of it as I have.

I wrote this program because I needed it and couldn't get it anywhere.  Although I can't guarantee it will help you, I find it so useful that while I can't use my mouse for more than about ten minutes during a day without MouseTool, I can often work all day long with it and not hurt my wrists.

If you do find it useful, let me know!


Contacting JR Software LLC

Let me know whether or not MouseTool works for you.  I can be reached by email at jeff@mousetool.com.

Order Information:

The registered version costs $39.95.

You can purchase the registered version of MouseTool from my distributor, DITR Marketing, Inc. online by credit card at

http://www.ditr.com/software/mousetool/order.html

For phone, fax, or email credit card orders and regular mail check orders, contact DITR Marketing at:

DITR Marketing, Inc.

11772 Sorrento Valley Road, Suite 120

San Diego, CA 92121

phone: (619) 259-4700

fax:   (619) 259-5425

email: service@ditr.com

web: http://www.softwarestore.com


The Trial Version has Expired!

If you found MouseTool useful, and would like to continue using it, please contact JR Software LLC at www.mousetool.com to register it.


The Help Button

Pressing this brings up Help.


Audible Dragging Indicator

Checking this option makes MouseTool give an audible tick whenever it clicks the mouse.


Visual Dragging Indicator

Checking this option makes MouseTool show the left-click button as red while the mouse is dragging.  This helps you to see when dragging starts and stops.


Tips for Using MouseTool

I find MouseTool to be easy to use.  There are a few tips, though, that do help.

•	Leave the mouse parked over safe parts of the screen --  title bars of windows, say, or most grey areas -- when not in use.  Then, if the table is bumped, or the mouse drifts a pixel or two, any clicks MouseTool generates won’t matter.

•	Leave your hands off the mouse when you’re not using it.  This will prevent small moves of the mouse and spurious clicks, and will give your hands a rest.

•	Use the audible and visual dragging indicators when using Smart Drag.

•	A double click is usually the same as a single click followed by hitting the enter key.  If typing some keys doesn’t give you any problem, this technique may at times be easier than switching MouseTool to double-click mode and back.

•	If you use drawing or paint programs, get a joystick with a throttle that is easy on your hands, and use MouseTool with Dragging Only checked.


Mode Change Buttons

These buttons allow you to switch between Left-, Double-, and Right-click modes.

Unlike the other buttons you see in MouseTool and in Windows, you can click on these with the right mouse button.

Left-click mode:

Right-click mode:

Double-click mode:


Reduce Button

This button reduces the MouseTool window to the size of four buttons on a toolbar:

To restore the MouseTool window to its full size, click the Restore Button on the right.


Restore Button

This button restores the MouseTool window to its full size.