 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Microsoft IntelliMouse Ash Nallawalla ash@melbpc.org.au |
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My original Microsoft Mouse, circa 1985, is still in use daily. It was a bus mouse and came with its own internal card. My later serial mice purchases included a couple of Asian cheapies that had to be thrown out, and I have gone back to Microsoft for later purchases at home and work. I neither liked losing a card slot for a bus mouse nor a COM port to a serial rodent, so I am happy to report that these trivial peeves have now been overcome.
Microsoft has launched its latest mouse, dubbed the IntelliMouse. It is identical to the existing design other than the addition of a recessed wheel between the two buttons. The wheel can also be depressed just as if it were a third mouse button. This wheel and button are exploited in some new applications such as Office 97 to provide advanced navigational abilities. As more and more PCs feature a PS/2 port (the old bus mouse port), this mouse has a PS/2 connector and an adapter for those wishing to use it with a 9-pin serial port.
IntelliPoint
To use the mouse wheel and button, the supplied IntelliPoint software (one 3.5-inch disk) must be installed. This software only operates on Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51 or later. Without this software the mouse operates as any other two-button Microsoft mouse, so little more can be said about the mouse itself. IntelliPoint makes this mouse more efficient across all application environments, whereas the wheel and button operate only if the software is designed for them. The accompanying manual covers a record ten languages, but only seven pages are in English.
Features
IntelliPoint has 16 options, some of which we have seen before, others are new. I've marked the ones I like with a "thumb-up" symbol (even if I don't use them):
- Button Selection Sets the primary button, such as setting the right button for a left-handed user.
- ClickLock A single click can lock the mouse button so that you can (for example) drag a selection without fear of dropping it at the wrong place. A second click releases it.
- ClickSaver Enables a single-click to do the job of a double-click.
- Double-Click Speed Enables the interval between two clicks to be adjusted.
- Focus Moving the pointer above a window makes it "active" without having to click in it.
- Odometer Measures the distance your pointer has travelled across your screen.
- Orientation Defines which way is "up" for the way you hold the mouse.
- Pointer Speed Changes the speed at which the pointer moves on the screen in relation to the mouse movement.
- PointerWrap Moves the pointer to the opposite side of the screen when it goes "off the edge" (not available in Windows NT).
- SmartSpeed Slows down the pointer as you approach icons, buttons, and other controls.
- SnapTo Moves pointer to the default button when you open a dialog box.
- Sonar Pressing the Ctrl key displays concentric circles around your pointer.
- Trails Displays a comet-like fading trail when you move the pointer (not available in Win NT).
- Vanish Hides the pointer when you type.
- Wheel Enables the wheel (depends on application).
- Wheel Button Enables the wheel button (depends on application).
Some of the features looked attractive initially. SnapTo, Focus and PointerWrap present the risk that your pointer is no longer where you thought you left it. This may depend on the nature of your work; In an e-mail application, I wanted the pointer to sit above the "Next" button, whereas SnapTo took it to the "Save" button, which happened to be the default. Odometer sounds like it escaped from a "PowerToys" package and may interest an occupational health professional. The other features will appeal to most users.
The wheel
Office 97 mentions the IntelliMouse just once in the manual - the wheel button when clicked serves to scroll the open document slowly or rapidly depending on the position of a special pointer in the vertical scroll bar. This could provide an "AutoCue" facility for your next speech, although most of us will find it useful to scroll through a long document without wearing out the index finger. The Help file is more comprehensive; rotating the wheel with the Crtl key depressed makes the page zoom in or out. All the Office 97 applications use these features in a similar fashion. You can also exploit the wheel and its button in Internet Explorer and possibly other new Microsoft products. The Outlook Help file mentions its use for people with disabilities but I feel that all users will find these features useful.
Reprinted from the March 1997 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
