Livecn

iMouse: Why not Ctrl+Click?

Many people think Ctrl+Click is the right way of mimicing right-click in Windows running on a Mac Book Pro.

It is not.

Ctrl+Click has its own specific meanings in Windows. It could be used to select/deselect mutiple non-adjacent items in a list. Or it could be used to open links in new tabs in Firefox. Etc.

Furthermore, right-click does more than just bringing up the context menu in Windows. It could be used to drag a file from a place to another and when released, a menu pops up for you to choose an action (copy/cut/create shortcut/cancel/etc). It could also have other meanings in different applications.

I'm a long time Windows user and I know Ctrl+Click compromises your habits when using Windows. That is why I wrote iMouse which fully mimics right-button features with one button mice (or trackpads).

(Yeah, I'm such a crazy fan of Apple who could only afford an Apple Pro mouse for his Windows laptop.=))

iVol

. What is iVol?

It is a program you can use to adjust the sound volume of your computer in an extremely easy way.

Just press your mouse wheel and scroll it up or down. You do not even have to move your hand! In addition, it also supports Shift+Wheel as an alternative.

The program can display an on-screen volume level, and also allows you to switch between audio devices using Alt+Wheel.

Latest Feature: Double click mouse wheel to toggle "Mute" status.

. Is iVol free?

Currently iVol is free for personal use. I developed iVol in my spare time. I hope it will be helpful for you as much as it is for me. If you like iVol, please support me by donating some money to me. Your support is greatly appreciated.

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE THE IVOL SOFTWARE FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSE IN ANY SITUATIONS. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE MONEY FROM THE IVOL SOFTWARE.

. Where to download iVol?

Here.

. What's the current version of iVol?

The version is 3.4c now. Please see the Change Log for details.

. How to use iVol?

Download it. Install it. Then you can use it right away.
Just press and scroll the mouse wheel. A volume indicator is shown to tell you how much the current volume is. You can disable the volume indicator while you are playing games.
Alternatively, you can use SHIFT + Wheel UP/DOWN to adjust the volume as well.
You can also change the current sound device whose volume will be adjusted by pressing ALT + Wheel UP/DOWN.
(New feature in V3.3) Double click the mouse wheel to toggle the "Mute" status.
While mouse is over the indicator,
- Right-click to switch to next device;
- Left-click to switch to previous device;
- Wheel Up/Down to adjust volume.

. Contact me?

livecn@yahoo.com

. Livecn's Homepage

http://livecn.huasing.org

About iMouse

iMouse is a Windows application to enable right-button functionalities for single-button mice.

It should be very helpful for those who run Windows XP on their Mac Book Pros (thanks to Boot Camp!), which have only one button trackpads.

Windows applications heavily depends on right-button, and iMouse comes to rescue - just click and hold for more than 0.3 seconds to enable right-button mode on your single-button mouse/trackpad, and the mouse will enter right-button mode. The next click will then be a right-click (or a right-button drag, or whatever). Alternatively, pressing and holding the Capslock key will also enable the right-button mode (it is so smart that if you push the button quickly, you will still get to switch the Caps mode). Note that the Capslock will be switched back to its original state after the right-button mode is enabled. (If you still don't get it, just try iMouse.)

However, iMouse is not exactly like what a single button mouse would do in MacOSX (that is, click and hold and the context menu would directly popup.). Instead, iMouse enables the right-button mode for the single button. I did this because of two reasons. One, programmingly it is hard to "de-register" a left-button-down message for the current window (I tried and gave up). Secondly, in Windows the right-button is more than just a context-menu trigger, it does other things. (For example, right-click and drag a file. Try it and you will know.)

The following is the letter I sent to Russ regarding his suggestions of making iMouse behave exactly the same as in MacOSX.

Hi Russ,

One more reason I didn't implement this is that, in Windows, right-click has different meanings than in MacOSX. It is more than just a way to trigger context menu. (It is even more so when using some applications such as 3D Studio and so on).

For example, in Windows, with a two-button mouse, you can right-click a file and drag it from a folder to another. Once you release the right-button, a menu will popup for you to choose the actions you want: Copy, Move, Create Shortcut, or Cancel. It is very hard to mimic this action with a single button mouse in the way you stated in your last Email. How long should I wait before poping up the menu? What if the user is dragging the file around, hovering, but hasn't decided which folder he wants to drag the file in? If the menu popups up in this case, it will be too annoying.

Furthermore, another critical reason is that in Windows, a right-button click is actually performed in two stages: right-button-down and right-button-up. The context menu is probably triggered by right-button-up. But if iMouse only mimics right_button_up, it would not be able to perform right-button-down actions which is useful in many applications.

I had two design goals of iMouse: To make it mimic right-button actions as much as possible, and to make it as predictable as possible. I think current design has pretty much achieved those and therefore I would like to keep it for the moment.

Hope it helps you understand why iMouse is like this.

[Update]: Why not Ctrl+Click?

iMouse

. What is iMouse?

iMouse enables right-click feature for a single-button mouse. It is useful for you to run Windows on your Mac computers (desktop/laptop) from Apple.

. Press and hold the mouse button to enable right-click.
. Press and hold the Caps Lock key to enable right-click (the lock will be reset automatically).

. Is iMouse free?

Currently iMouse is free for personal use. I developed iVol in my spare time. I hope it will be helpful for you as much as it is for me. If you like iMouse, please support me by donating some money to me. Your support is greatly appreciated.

YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE THE IVOL SOFTWARE FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSE IN ANY SITUATIONS. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE MONEY FROM THE IVOL SOFTWARE.

. Where to download iMouse?