Feature Request: Mouse Gestures

MHP · Post by **MHP** » 2004 Nov 08, 22:29

I have been using mouse gestures in Firefox, and I find they are great. No need to move the hands from the mouse to the keyboard or to move the mouse to a special spot. Are they practical to write into an application like xplorer2?

My first choices would be drag RMB left to go back a directory, drag RMB right to go forward, drag RMB up to go up a directory.

I should also say I think the program is really well thought out and very helpful in my daily work.

MHP · Post by **MHP** » 2004 Nov 08, 22:31

Oops -- I think I've posted this to the wrong forum. It's meant for x2, not 2x.

JRz · Post by **JRz** » 2004 Nov 09, 06:41

MHP wrote:Oops -- I think I've posted this to the wrong forum. It's meant for x2, not 2x.

Used a mouse gesture to get here I presume

Post by **nikos** » 2004 Nov 09, 08:42

back to gestures, i have to admit that i have no clue or particular taste on them

i suppose it is good for browser programs that only do a few things like "go up" or "go back", but try to find enough gestures for the 200+ commands of x2!

JRz · Post by **JRz** » 2004 Nov 09, 11:34

nikos wrote:

back to gestures, i have to admit that i have no clue or particular taste on them

i suppose it is good for browser programs that only do a few things like "go up" or "go back", but try to find enough gestures for the 200+ commands of x2!

My thoughts exactly. I've tried them to see what it is all about (a while ago), but my mouse skills are probably not good enough

I kept doing things I didn't intend to do

I feel the keyboard is much more valuable for the type of discrete actions possible in X². You'd hate to have to repair what you damage doing the wrong gesture 'by mistake'.

I believe there is some old thread covering this topic too (but I couldn't find it anymore)

MHP · Post by **MHP** » 2004 Nov 09, 16:55

Thanks for the replies. I agree, there is no reason to have mouse gestures for all commands, and it could be dangerous.

Gestures expand the basic vocabulary of the mouse from RMB click, LMB click, the double clicks, and the drags to include more possibilities. So, they could be used (as the other basic mouse "words" are) for basic operations, like the navigation options I've suggested.

Still, if others don't see the value of them, there's no point. I do suggest working with basic gestures in Firefox, if you use it. After doubting their usefulness, I have found them extremely handy.

hpp3 · Post by **hpp3** » 2004 Nov 09, 18:41

Try StrokeIt. Link is at my last post here:
http://forum.zabkat.com/viewtopic.php?p=15337#15337

MHP · Post by **MHP** » 2004 Nov 09, 19:37

Thanks!

hpp3 · Post by **hpp3** » 2004 Nov 10, 00:31

Hey MHP, just to be curious, is StrokeIt doing what you were hoping for x2? It'd be nice to know for future reference, especially because so many folks find them infinitely useful. Maybe even write your own "Using StrokeIt with Xplorer2". I'm picking on you because you're the only one who's asked about this so far and from the sounds of it, have some experience to share. Let us know!

mimeryme · Post by **mimeryme** » 2004 Nov 10, 06:59

I've tried using StrokeIt with x2 and I just couldn't get used to the delay on right-click actions. Of course, I can assign the mouse gestures to another button, but by design, gestures in internet browsers use the right-click. Switching between two buttons to do gestures in different programs never took off for me so I ditched StrokeIt.

MHP · Post by **MHP** » 2004 Nov 26, 22:26

hpp3 asked: Hey MHP, just to be curious, is StrokeIt doing what you were hoping for x2? It'd be nice to know for future reference, especially because so many folks find them infinitely useful. [...] you're the only one who's asked about this so far and from the sounds of it, have some experience to share. Let us know!

Today, I found time to install and try StrokeIt. I've been unable to make it recognize gestures in applications (like x2) that have RMB menus. The RMB menu seems to interfere with use of the RMB for gestures. I may have missed something in the SI docs, but after spending an hour on it, I've got to move on to other things. If anyone has the obvious answer I missed, please let me know!

I am still using gestures in Firefox (now 1.0), and they are times savers and hand savers. The commands I'd like to get working through gestures in x2 are "back" and "up". Easier than moving the mouse to the toolbar. I use Naturally Speaking a good part of the time (for the same reason, sore and tired hands from mousing/keying), and it should be easy to program voice commands for those items.

MHP · Post by **MHP** » 2004 Nov 26, 22:51

As soon as I posted my previous message, I gave it another try and got it to work perfectly. Because of x2's excellent feature of clicking on pathname parts to move up the tree, I didn't bother to program up. However, I was able to program back and forward, and I do find them convenient. Soon, I'll program in some of my bookmarked directories.

The secret to getting it to work seemed to be having it recognize x2 windows by the filename, not the titlebar.

In response to a previous comment, I didn't find any delay on RMB menu (just don't move the mouse while hitting the RMB). This may be due to newer versions of x2 or SI than used by the person who found that a problem.