Every once and a while one finds oneself in a situation where one is forced to used Microsoft Windows, or one is requested by a relative to help them out with something. Thus sometimes one finds oneself using such an inferior operating system. So here follows some instructions and tips for doing complicated stuff in Windows, even though doing these things in GNU/Linux usually is quite trivial.
The problem was the following: How to use a MouseTrapper positioned vertically on an armrest? This would be most likely the best solution for an individual with an injured shoulder as this would allow one to control a mouse without moving the shoulder whatsoever. How ever, to be able to do this, one needs to be able to rotate the mouse input 90 degrees (in other words swap the x and the y axis), preferably using a hot key so that one can easily swap back for using a regular mouse.
In GNU/Linux this is simple. One line in xorg.conf should solve the problem. On Microsoft Windows, not so simple. After hours of googling the only usable solution seemed to be bit of shareware written by a German guy. Two problems arise: Can one really trust this bit of software? And no price was listed on the programmers website. Instead one was asked to contact him to get a quote.
It is possible to use a script for Autohotkey and advanced, open source, scriptable hotkey application for Microsoft Windows (great software - I completely depended on it back in the days when I actually used Windows on a day to day basis). Unfortunately this renders the mouse cursor “jumpy”. Finally, I came across an application created to be “gag software” for playing tricks on your friends. This simple little piece of software can invert either the x-axis or the y-axis or both, in addition to being able to rotate the mouse by however many degrees one likes. It works flawlessly. Combining this software with Autohotkey results in a quick, elegant and simple solution. Here’s how to do it:
Download and install Autohotkey. Then download the mouse software, either from my local copy or from software.com. If you download the software from download.com you will have to start it and right click on the icon in the task bar to configure it. Deselect the options for inverting both axises, and select rotating 90 degrees. In my local copy of the software I have included these options as default.
Unzip the software to a location of your choice (in this example we will be using C:\Program Files\mousemover.)
‘Right click’ on the desktop. Select ‘New’ and ‘AutoHotkey script’. Give it any name you like. Now ‘Right click’ on the script and select ‘Edit script’. Enter the following code:
RefreshTray() {
ControlGetPos,,,w,h,ToolbarWindow321, AHK_class Shell_TrayWnd
width:=w, hight:=h
While % ((h:=h-5)>0 and w:=width){
While % ((w:=w-5)>0){
PostMessage, 0x200,0,% ((hight-h) >> 16)+width-w,ToolbarWindow321, AHK_class Shell_TrayWnd
}
}
}
~^!Right::
if (sakasarunning) {
Process, Close, sakasa.exe
RefreshTray()
sakasarunning := false
} else {
Run, c:\Program Files\mousemover\sakasa.exe
sakasarunning := true
}
return
Save the script and exit the editor. Select the script and type ‘Ctrl+x’. ‘Right click’ on your start button. Select ‘Explorer all users’, browse to and select the ‘Startup’ folder. Type ‘Ctrl+v’
Reboot your computer. You should now be able to toggle mouse rotation by 90 degrees on and off by typing ‘Ctrl+Alt+Right’