Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Automate Your Input Devices
We've talked about your keyboard already, and we return to it in several future chapters. But I
want to take a moment to talk about other input devices, such as the one you use to move your
pointer, as well as game controllers and other special-use input devices.
Remember when every Mac came with a one-button mouse? Now multi-touch trackpads and
Magic Mice (with no visible buttons) are
de rigueur
, but it's still easy to find third-party mice,
trackballs, and other input devices with numerous configurable buttons, wheels, and other
controls. Even Apple's minimalist pointing devices can be configured to do special things with
gestures and combinations of modifier keys and clicks.
Every extra button or control on an input device can be put to some good use. Although you
neednotuseanythingotherthanasimplekeyboardandapointingdevicewithasinglebutton,
you may—depending on your needs, tasks, and disposition—find it easier and quicker to do
certaintasksviaadedicatedbuttonorknobthanwithanobscuremenucommandorkeyboard
shortcut.
Would you indulge me in a brief story?
IusedtomanagesoftwaredevelopmentforKensington,acomputeraccessoriescompany.One
of our products was a four-button trackball called Expert Mouse (or, in some variants, Turbo
Mouse). I shared a large office called the Mouse Lab with three other people—Cris, Debra,
and Don. One afternoon when we all should have been busy with more productive tasks, we
made up a game that, while goofy, illustrates the kind of thing you can do with a bit of clever
automation and a few extra buttons on your input device.
We each started by making rules in Outlook (our email program) to play unique sounds
whenever we received an email message from one another. For example, when I received a
message from Don, my computer went Zing! but when Debra sent me a message, it went Pop!
Everyone had a custom sound for each other person in the room.
Next, we configured MouseWorks (the software, since superseded by
TrackballWorks
,
used
to control our trackballs) so that each of the three extra buttons—besides the one used for a
regular click—sent one of the others a blank email message.
Is your head spinning yet? Well, here's the result of our labors. I click button #2 on my
trackball and Don's computer makes a Crack! sound. Don clicks button #3 on his trackball
and Debra's computer makes a Ping! sound. Cris clicks button #4 on his trackball and my
