One of the numerous obstacles those of us with physical limitations face is how do we perform a right-click with a one-button mouse? Those that are able to use a physical keyboard can simply hold down the control key while clicking and that will emulate a right-click. But what about those of us who can’t use a physical keyboard or have trouble using one? There’s actually several solutions out there to this problem and in this brief article I thought I’d touch on a few of the simple software solutions.
AssistiveWare’s excellent KeyStrokes make good use of “dwelling” technology that allows people to do this. With dwelling turned on you can right click and perform a wide variety of other actions without having to click your mouse button. Just open the Dwellix floating window, select what you want to do (like right clicking for example), then just hover your mouse cursor over something for a short period of time (specified by the user in the preferences panel) and the action that you have selected will be performed.
But what if you want to right-click without using KeyStroke’s dwelling technology? Well there are some solutions for this as well. One Finger Snap by Old Jewel Software allows you to perform a right-click by dwelling your mouse cursor in the same spot for a short period of time (specified by the user in the preferences panel) with the mouse button pressed down. Right-clicking is all that One Finger Snap does so there’s no need to select what action you want to perform first and it only works when holding your mouse cursor still and pressing and holding the mouse button down simultaneously. The program will even play a sound to let you know that a right-click is being performed. One Finger Snap Is a preference panel and can be turned on and off from there. I used this nifty utility in full screen games such as Neverwinter Nights and Diablo 2 and it works quite well.
There’s a also ClickNoMo from TCNoMo. ClickNoMo Works a lot like the floating Dwellix window found in KeyStrokes with a few enhancements. You can set independent click and drag times to avoid inadvertently releasing a mouse drag too soon. You can also set the program to stick on a particular mouse action for repeated double-clicking, dragging, right clicking, etc. In default mode the program will switch back to single-clicking (or left-clicking) after each action.
There are actually other solutions out there to this problem, both on the hardware and software sides, but these are the simplest and cheapest solutions that I’m aware of. One Finger Snap, in particular, has been a godsend to me in situations where the KeyStrokes floating window is hidden by a full screen application (like a game for example).
- Paul Natsch
I have Ataxia which didnt start until my thirties. I was struggling on PC keyboard and looking for options, I wanted to be able to type for as long as possible and discovered that Keystrokes was only program I could find that also allowed you to use hardware keyboard instead of on-screen keyboard and combine with word prediction and hot keys to speed up the bit of typing I can still manage.
The keys are also flatter and more spaced on an iMac and after trying a Lightwriter communciation device (I have speech problems too) which has a very similar setup i decided to also switch my desktop PC to an iMac with Keystrokes.
My next challenge was the mouse, which appeared to be develping a mind of its own, though i suspect my increasing lack of co-ordination was more to blame!) I first bought the BIGTRACK trackball as it was the cheapest and although i managed on small 12″ screen of laptop as one knock of it went right across screen, I had difficulties when my new iMac arrived with a 24″ screen to get across. The page also seemed to jump up as i clumsily tried to whack the button for left click so moving it off the link to click.
After searching on internet again I saw a young girl on a video using a Joystick Plus, her co-ordination difficulties were a bit more pronounced than mine so I thought well if she can manage it, I should be able to and it would allow for my condition progressing also.
It comes with a button guard which I kept on so i can rest my arm on it, I use dwellclicker that comes with Keystrokes for left click and rest my right forearm on apple mouse to hold it down while i move joystick (with left hand) to drag or highlight. It comes with a switch box so I can add more accessible switches at a later time and it has a feature called X-Y axis where you click it and it will only move up/down or left/right for severe co-ordination problems. You can also adjust the speed the cursor can move.
This button(X-Y axis button) is in a bit of a difficult position to reach _ right at the front, but with a switch box and microlight switch that would switch the direction at the slightest twitch of a finger/thumb this would still be possible for me to use even given a significant progression in my condition.
My gripe is… after searching through many communication aids why are they all windows based? There is a program on Assistive Ware called Touchstrokes why couldnt this be used with a rugged compact tablet PC similar to a Dynavox box but with max OS X instead of windows XP? If it had built in webcam you could use the iNavigate with the on-screen keyboard for people unable to use their arms.
I’m waiting to hear about funding for a Lightwriter but I hope by the time I couldnt use my arms and needed something like that they may be a Mac alternative and I wouldnt have to go back to windows!
Cool , very helpful article , this is definitely a step to the right direction making computers more accessible to a much wider range of people.
I never had this problem before but I can see how this will help those who have limitations , I hope more developments like this will come out in the future
@Kati: You’re right about the communication aids all being Windows based but you could put together something very similar if you used a ModBook and KeyStrokes and iNavigate as you suggested. A ModBook is a MacBook which has been modified to be a tablet PC – there’s a website here about them: http://www.axiotron.com/
Cool thanks! I’ll start saving up for when they come over to England. Apparently they only available in US and Canada at the moment.
I found this free program on Emptech site.
Its for Mac OS X 10.4 or higher, its called Finderpop and it allows you to access right-click menu’s via just holding down the mouse key, rather than control and mouse together.
http://www.emptech.info/product_details.php?ID=1127
It also states:
“In addition, applications can be placed into the FinderPop Items Folder, making applications immediately accessible from within contextual menus and open any item off the desktop. Using modifier keys, you can drag an item from any point on your hard drive to another so there is the option to just use the mouse or have control through a keyboard”
@Kati: As far as I can tell from the FinderPop website, the control-free right clicking only works within the Finder. It’s certainly another resource though. Thanks!
Does anyone know of a software like the One Finger Snap- but for Windows XP?
There was a Mac based communication device. The Gemini by Assistive Tech Inc (which later merged with Tobii). From what I understand it was discontinued because of lack of ability to get parts. You might be able to find a used one or something? But it did run a much older OS, maybe 10? Most companies don’t do the apple thing because apple makes it difficult to get license agreements and so on. Sadly.