Changing How the Mouse Works in Windows 7

Transcription

1 Changing How the Mouse Works in Windows 7 Mada Assistive Technology Center Tel: Fax: info@mada.org.qa Pen

2 Introduction There are several ways to adjust the mouse settings to make the mouse physically easier to use. You can slow down the mouse cursor and the double click speed as well as changing how the mouse buttons work. These changes may directly affect a trackpad on a laptop or you may need to make changes in the trackpad controls. To use the links below hold down the Control key and click on one or press the PageDown key to see the topics Switch Mouse Button functions around When Double Clicking is Difficult When holding down the mouse button is difficult Click Lock Slow the Mouse Pointer Down Change how the trackpad works Free Mouseketeer software Free Edgeless software How computer adjustments affect other users of a shared computer Note: Instructions for mouse users have black bullet points Instructions for keyboard users have arrow shaped bullet points To make these changes go to the Mouse properties in the Control Panel Click on the Start menu Press the Windows key Click on the Control Panel in the Start menu Type control panel into the search box at the bottom of the Start menu and press Enter 2

3 If you do not see a list of icons you are in Category view, change this by left clicking on View by Category (top left) and choose large icons. Press Shift and Tab to highlight View by category Then press Spacebar and then down cursor to Large icons and press Enter In the Control Panel Once in the Control Panel Double click on the Mouse Icon Press M and then the cursor keys to get to the mouse icon and press Enter Switch Mouse Button functions around in Mouse Properties Some people want to change which mouse button they click with, this can also be helpful for left handed users. To Do This: Follow instruction on Page 1 to get to the Mouse Properties, this should display the mouse properties page. Left click Switch Primary and Secondary Buttons. Click Apply. In Mouse Properties Tab to Switch Primary button box Press the Spacebar to insert Tab to Apply and press Enter The buttons on the mouse or trackpad will be switched around 3

4 When Double Clicking is Difficult If you have difficulty double clicking quickly enough on icons, folders or files to open them there are 2 solutions to help you. Double Clicking on desktop icons, folders and files Method 1 Click once on the icon, folder or file and it will turn blue. Press the Enter key to open it Tab to the icon, folder or file and it will turn blue Press the Enter key to open it Slow down the double click speed Method 2 Follow the instructions on Page 1 to get to the Mouse Properties, this should display the mouse properties page. Click and drag the Double Click Speed Slider Try it out by double clicking on the folder icon When satisfied click Apply. In Mouse Properties Tab to the Double Click speed slider Press left or right cursor key to set the speed Tab to Apply and press Enter When holding down the mouse button is difficult Click Lock Sometimes people find it hard to hold down the left mouse button, especially when they are drawing or they need to drag items around the screen. You can set the left mouse button to stay held down for as long as you need it to. 4

5 To Do This: Follow the instructions on Page 1 to get to the Mouse Properties, this should display the mouse properties page. Left click in the turn on Click Lock Box Click on Settings Adjust the time taken for Click lock to activate by dragging the slider Click Apply Tab to the Click Lock Box press Spacebar to insert a Tab to Settings and press Enter Press left or right cursor key to set the speed for click lock to activate Press Enter Using Click Lock in the Paint program Go to the Start menu and type Paint in the Search Programs Box then press Enter This will load up the Paint Program Choose a colour Click on the Paint Screen hold down the left mouse cursor for 2 seconds and let go. Keep painting and the cursor should carry on drawing as if you were holding the left mouse button down Click once with the left button to cancel. You may want to adjust how long you have to hold down the left mouse button before click lock works. Don t forget to tell other people who use the computer that you have turned click lock on, otherwise they will be very confused. 5

6 Slow the Mouse Pointer Down Sometimes the mouse pointer can be too fast on screen and people feel they can t control it. You can easily slow it down and letting users set their own speed of mouse cursor can make them feel they have more control over the computer and boost their confidence. To Do This: Follow the instructions on Page 1 to get to the Mouse Properties; this should display the mouse properties page. Click on the Pointer Options Tab at the top Click and drag the slider along the bar to speed up or slow down the mouse pointer. Click on Apply Press Control and Tab to get to the Pointer Options Tab Use the left or right cursor keys to drag the slider along the bar to speed up or slow down the mouse pointer. Press Enter Change how the trackpad works Laptops with trackpads to control the mouse usually have their own control page in mouse properties. If you cannot use a trackpad you can plug in an alternative mouse or use keyboard shortcuts instead of the trackpad. 6

7 Trackpad properties Changing how the mouse works in Windows 7 Trackpad properties vary between different laptops but you should be able to: change how sensitive the trackpad is Change the buttons around Use gestures Free Resources Mouseketeer Mouseketeer is mouse clicking replacement software. It can carry out left click, right click, double click, highlight and drag-drop actions. It can be downloaded from Insert link Edgeless Edgeless causes the mouse pointer to wrap around the screen instead of stopping at the edges, this is helpful who have trouble moving the mouse pointer. It can be downloaded from Insert link How computer adjustments affect other users of a shared computer Any changes made may affect other people who use the computer, especially if there is no log on screen. Please tell other people what you have changed so they understand what is happening If you have your own computer logon, changes will just affect your computer use Please see the Information Sheet on Themes and User Profiles in Windows 7 on setting up the computer for different users This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. We request attribution to Mada and all other authors of original materials is retained 7

8 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. We request attribution to Mada and all other authors of original materials is retained