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Tricks For Travelling With A Mouse
Posted by Angus Kidman at 1:30 PM on October 6, 2008
Earlier this year, Adam wrote up the Logitech V550 cordless mouse, which clips to your notebook for easy portability. I've been using the V550 recently, and while it's definitely a neat way of travelling with a pointing device, there's still some tricks you need to follow to get the most out of it.
Windows only: There aren't many computer games that support dual monitors; the vast majority simply fail to acknowledge there might be two, three, or more monitors attached to a computer. In the best case scenario the cursor can leave the primary screen and you simply have to scoot it back into the main screen. In the worst case scenario games will crash or exit play suddenly when the cursor ends up outside the window of play. MouseJail is a tiny (3k!) application that will effectively jail your mouse cursor to the primary screen while the game is in session, ensuring you won't have to hunt for it on other unused screens or risk crashing your game. MouseJail is a free download for Windows only. Photo by 
The right mouse button—beloved by geeks for its power, theoretically unnecessary on a Mac, and generally under-utilised on the average desktop. Right-clicking can be a powerful tool for automating file actions and saving yourself time and arm effort, but only if you've put your own stamp on the offerings of that secondary button. Today we're rounding up some of the best tools for adding power and precision to your right-click menu on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems, so check out what can be done from the other side of the scroll wheel. Photo by 
Windows only: Free right-click enhancer Moo0 RightClicker adds contextual images and a host of useful features to your standard right-click menu in Windows. Copying and moving files and folders to bookmarked or standard system folders is made easy with quick-collapsing menus. Perma-deleting items (as opposed to merely "recycling" them) is added to your options, and intelligent copying—the name, path, or contents of an actual file—is a nice touch. Best of all, Moo0 doesn't eliminate any customisations you've already made, and lets you customise what you see on right-clicking, so it works nicely with any other utilities you may have installed. Moo0 RightClicker is a free download for Windows systems only. 
Linux only: Easystroke, a free mouse gesture manager for Linux systems, makes the often quirky business of summoning applications, web sites, and desktop actions with your pointer a simple affair. After installing Easystroke and adding it to your startup programs, it sits in your icon tray to register movements and add new ones. By default, it only records mouse gestures made when the middle mouse button is held down, and it's surprisingly intuitive at knowing what you wanted. Let's take a look at how to set up Easystroke to help you get at frequently-accessed site, desktop manipulations, and favourite programs with a flick of the wrist.
Windows only: Free application Mazzick is a simple mouse gesture utility that you can carry on your USB thumb drive. Using Mazzick is simple: just invoke it using one of the default shortcuts (like holding Shift, for example), then draw the gesture you want. Creating your own custom gestures—like my 'l' for Lifehacker gesture in the screenshot—is a breeze. If you're a fan of saving time and keystrokes with global mouse gesture tools like 
Windows only: Free mouse utility Slowmousion is a small, memory-resident app that can be seriously helpful for Photoshop/GIMP aficionados and anyone else who has to draw or select objects with precision. The app sits in your desktop tray (taking up about 3.6MB on my Vista system) and lets you enable its cursor-slowing function with a keyboard key, middle mouse button, or other hotkey. The one big drawback is a missing option to adjust the slow-down speed—those who really need fine-point control may like it, but some might miss a gradual velocity option. If you'd rather do the delicate stuff with your keyboard keys, our own Adam Pash's 
Windows only: Free Windows utility Folder Guide adds user-defined folders to your right-click menu for quick, easy access to any number of favourite folders. Once you add a folder, Folder Guide makes it a very simple affair to navigate to that commonly used folder in just two clicks. Explorer's Favourites menu already uses the same basic concept, but it's not as readily available as the right-click menu and it also integrates with Internet Explorer, which means any of those bookmarks clutter your folder shortcuts. If you like the quick access idea behind Folder Guide but don't like the execution, check out 
The Logitech V550 cordless laser mouse is perfect for laptop lovers on the go who prefer a mouse to the trackpad with its clip-and-go dock. Just affix the small dock to your laptop, and whenever you need to move around, clip the mouse to the dock and go. This diminutive mouse also boasts a tiny wireless receiver so you don't have a huge USB dongle hanging out the side of your laptop. It's a simple idea, but if you're one of many who prefer the mouse to the trackpad, it's a very clever idea. The V550 will set you back around $60.
