Mouse gestures, or hidden functions of a computer mouse. Problem using mouse gestures

Probably, it happened to everyone: at first you don’t understand why this thing is needed, and then you can’t imagine your life without it (study, work, etc.). For me, one of those things was mouse gesture control. Gesture fans use over 20 different combinations. But even 5-7 basic gestures can change the approach to the solution everyday tasks in the browser.

Google Chrome

One of the most popular extensions to work with gestures Google Chrome- crxmouse. We already about it to our readers. With extensive functionality, crxMouse offers the user a wide range of options and settings. All actions with tabs can be performed using gestures: close, open, refresh, go to the next / last or previous / first, scroll to the end or beginning, add to bookmarks, copy the page address ... And this is not the whole set.

Available in crxMouse and tools for working with links and images. With a gesture, you can open a link in a new tab, a new window, a new private window, copy text or address. For images, there are commands "Open in a new tab", "Save", "Copy URL", "Select for later copy to clipboard".

Settings for Image Actions

It is not necessary to use the preset gestures. Any action can be assigned its own combination of mouse movements. For advanced users, rocket gestures and the ability to write your own scripts are offered. The sync feature makes your settings available on any device, and backup save them in case of emergency. Among the shortcomings, it should be noted the lack of the Russian language and the slowdown with all functions enabled.

This extension is similar to crxMouse, but does not do much. For example, there are no gestures for working with images. But there are gestures for links and text, backup of settings, the ability to write your own scripts. The extension is quite suitable for those who do not need to manipulate the drawings. Plus, it works fast.

There is also no Russian language in Gestures for Google Chrome, but this does not cause difficulties in handling the extension.

Mozilla Firefox

The most popular and most functional gesture control extension for Mozilla Firefox. It does everything you need and a little more. Any operations with tabs, gestures for text, links and images, gestures using the mouse wheel, rocket gestures - you can list for a long time. If this is not enough for you, then the developers' website has ready-made scripts for all occasions. The extension has been translated into Russian, which greatly simplifies setup.

One drawback: to open arbitrary link you have to use a script. To do this, click the "Add scheme" button in the settings and copy the following text into the "Scheme" field:

Const URL = "//site/"; const IN_NEW_TAB = true; const IN_BACKGROUND = false; if (IN_NEW_TAB) gBrowser.loadOneTab(URL, null, null, null, IN_BACKGROUND, false); else gBrowser.loadURI(URL);

Instead of //site/ you enter desired address, and in the "Gesture" field, specify the desired combination of mouse movements or simply draw a gesture at the bottom of the window. It looks like this, for example.

Mouse Gestures Suite

As an alternative to FireGestures, you can look at the Mouse Gestures Suite extension. It is the successor to the famous All-in-One Gestures. Among the pluses of the extension is quite sufficient functionality (including gestures for images and links and gestures using the mouse wheel), fast work, translation into Russian, backup settings.

Unfortunately, there are also disadvantages. Some menu items are not translated, the settings are not divided into groups, and it takes some time to find the right one. Significant shortcoming: there is no way to configure the opening of an arbitrary URL by gesture. Mouse Gestures Suite can only open two favorite bookmarks, but to use even this function, you have to delve into the bookmark properties. Other than that, it's a decent decision.

Noticed: the more you use, the less benefit will bring gesture control. If you mainly use the mouse for work, then you simply must master the gestures. With them, your browser will never be the same again.

Programming mouse gestures

• JavaScript

Many users of Opera and FireFox know about the existence of the so-called Mouse Gestures (for FF there is a plug-in of the same name) - mouse gestures to which the browser reacts by performing various activities(such as opening a new window, bookmarks, back, forward, etc., etc.), the only drawback of this feature is that there is no interaction with the site, and I decided to write a small library that will help developers add such functionality to their site …

On the this moment The library understands only 8 simple gestures:

• Top - hold down the mouse button and move the cursor up by 50-200 pixels (by default) and release, the offset along the X axis should be at least two times less. than y-axis
• Bottom - move the cursor down
• Right

• Top-Left - offset along the X and Y axes should not differ by more than two times
• Top Right
• bottom-left
• bottom-right

To rule out false positives of our functions, it's better to bind them to the pressed "Ctrl" key (the "Ctrl" key code is 17, if you want to change - see all the codes on the page http://unixpapa.com/js/key.html):

$(window).keydown(function(event)(
switch(event.keyCode)(
case 17:
$(document).mousedown(navigation.mousedown);
$(document).mouseup(navigation.mouseup);
break;
}
});

switch(event.keyCode)(
case 17:


break;
}
});

And this is how the code from my example looks like:

function mouseGestures()(
$(window).keydown(function(event)(
switch(event.keyCode)(
//…
// different keys do different things
// Different browsers provide different codes
// see here for details: unixpapa.com/js/key.html
//…
case 17:
$(document).mousedown(navigation.mousedown);
$(document).mouseup(navigation.mouseup);
break;
}
});
$(window).keyup(function(event)(
switch(event.keyCode)(
case 17:
$(document).unbind("mousedown");
$(document).unbind("mouseup");
break;
}
});

Navigation.maxX = 300;
navigation.maxY = 300;
navigation.TopLeft = function (X,Y) ( select($("div#left div.top"),Math.abs(X-Y)) );
navigation.Top = function (X,Y) ( select($("div#center div.top"),Y) );
navigation.TopRight = function (X,Y) ( select($("div#right div.top"),Math.abs(X-Y)) );
navigation.Left = function (X,Y) ( select($("div#left div.middle"),X) );
navigation.Right = function (X,Y) ( select($("div#right div.middle"),X) );
navigation.BottomLeft = function (X,Y) ( select($("div#left div.bottom"),Math.abs(X-Y)) );
navigation.Bottom = function (X,Y) ( select($("div#center div.bottom"),Y) );
navigation.BottomRight = function (X,Y) ( select($("div#right div.bottom"),Math.abs(X-Y)) );
}
function select(el,k) (
var speed = 1500;
switch(true)(
case(k<50):
speed=500;
break;
case(k<100):
speed=1000;
break;
case(k<150):
speed=1500;
break;
case(k<200):
speed=2000;
break;
case (k>=200):
speed=2500;
break;
}
el.animate((
opacity: 0.4
backgroundColor: "#ffff00"
), speed, "linear",
function()(
el.animate((
opacity: 1
backgroundColor: "#fffff"
), speed)
});
}

I’ll comment on the select function a little more, as the first parameter it takes the DOM "a element that we will animate, the second parameter is the coefficient, the animation speed will depend on it, the coefficient is the amount of movement along the axis of interest to us (or the difference between them) …

Why is this on the site? As for me, it will be quite convenient if you hang on the Left and Right events the transition to the previous / next page in the forum, at the Top event - return to the main page or to the top of the page, so it may well come in handy ...

I have a problem with my laptop and touchpad. There is "something" that handles a 3-finger tap on the touchpad and causes the touchpad to be enabled/disabled (buttons continue to work). It was incredibly annoying because at the beginning I didn't know what was going on or that this 3-finger tap was the actual shortcut for this. It was especially infuriating when this shortcut was accidentally pressed during a game. After a month of yelling on the screen and looking for answers, I found it to be a "shortcut". Simply pressing the touchpad with 3 fingers will disable it, and doing the same will activate the touchpad again.

I want to get rid of this shortcut, but I have searched for it in the Synaptics driver without finding anything similar. Also in the Control Panel I don't see anything that looks like the culprit. I don't even know who is responsible for handling this label, which leads me to ask this question here. Does anyone know where this shortcut comes from? Any way to disable? Is there a way to track the culprit and erase it from my laptop?

This is using a Samsung np550p05-s05cl model, with Windows 8 and the latest Synaptics drivers.

3 responses

touchpad and clickpad are two different things. The Synaptics touchpad is your regular, everyday touchpad that you are used to seeing on many PC laptops like HP, Dell, etc. I bought a HP pavillion m6 a couple of years ago (can't remember the whole name), and like the second poster , it had a shortcut conveniently located in the upper left corner of the mouse pad. The touchpad also usually comes with the standard two buttons at the bottom of the pad to be used for left and right clicking.

click pad is another laptop mouse pad, except this time there are no left and right buttons at all because the whole pad clicks when you click on the bottom left or bottom right side of the pad. I prefer this to the touchpad...but I was also disappointed to see that the shortcut in the top left was gone.

I'm not entirely sure I understood the OP as to exactly where you were looking. You mentioned that you went into the Control Panel and then went to the synaptics icon and clicked on it. This will take you to a window labeled "Properties for Synaptics ClickPad". You will be treated to small animations as well as a very brief description of what each gesture can do and how you must perform the gesture if you want it to work. In this window, you can disable the gestures that you are unhappy with. Another thing that anyone having a similar problem can do is click on "Smart Sense." The more you move the slider to the right, the more the clickpad will somehow ignore erroneous touches when the palms of your hands touch while typing. It doesn't work perfectly, but you might just be surprised how effective it can actually be.

Finally, in Windows 10, if you go to Control Panel and then click on the "mouse" button, a window will open to display 6 mouse/navigation/clickpad related tabs. By default, this window opens all the way to the right tab, which just happens to be a tab called, "Settings and ending with the PC keyboard surface". If you look in the middle of the window, you'll notice a small checkbox that says: "Disable internal pointing device when an external USB pointing device is connected. I hope this helps anyone wondering about this particular topic.

I have a Synaptics touchpad on my Win8 HP laptop. The way to disable the touchpad is to double-tap the top left corner. There is a small white dot in the top left corner that turns yellow when the touchpad is disabled. And also that the first time you disable it, a touchpad picture appears with a finger on it with a red line through it indicating disable. To turn it back on I just double-tap the top left corner again. The red light turns and the image reappears, showing the touchpad is back on. You can find touchpad settings by going to Control Panel > Mouse > Device Settings (tab) > click on Synaptics Lux Pad > click on Settings > Click on click > click on the gear icon next to click. There you will see the touchpad enable/disable settings.

Browsers are one of the few programs that can support, in addition to hot keys, operational control of individual commands using the so-called mouse gestures - simple mouse movements while holding down its right key. Mouse gesture control typically involves a small set of common browser commands such as opening and closing a tab, refreshing a web page, navigating open tabs etc. Not all browsers support mouse gestures as part of their regular capabilities, but many of them can be endowed with such functionality using built-in extensions. Such extensions are available in the Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox stores, which means that support for mouse gestures can be implemented in most representatives of the browser market - in numerous products on Chromium base and the Gecko engine. Mouse gestures seem to be such a relevant feature that the extension that adds this feature is among the few browser extensions available. Microsoft Edge in Windows 10 Anniversary update. Moreover, its place among the first, and these are the first twelve extensions at the time of writing, was determined not by some little-known third-party developer, but by Microsoft company, after failed experiment with Windows 8, it has made it a rule to identify the needs of its audience before creating any product.

Below we will consider the functionality for using mouse gestures in popular browsers Opera, Yandex.Browser, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge.

1 Opera

The mouse gesture feature in the Opera browser is preinstalled and enabled by default. To get help about specific commands that can be given to Opera by mouse movements with the right key pressed, we go to the settings section. Click "Menu" - "Settings". In the settings search box, enter key query"gestures" and check (just in case) whether the "Enable mouse gestures" option is active. Next to this option, click on the link with the inscription "More".

Opens in a new tab reference Information See the Browser Guide, where the "Navigation with Mouse Gestures" section will list the supported commands and their corresponding mouse movements.

V Opera settings below the option to enable/disable mouse gestures, there is another option that is disabled by default. By activating it - the “Enable mouse button combinations” option, we will be able to send the “Back” and “Forward” commands for the corresponding movements in the history of the tab not even with mouse movements, but simply with a series of clicks of its keys. Pressing the right mouse button, released a little later than pressing the left button, will return the web page one step back. And the opposite action - holding the left key and releasing it a little later than pressing the right key - will perform a step forward.

2. Yandex.Browser

Yandex.Browser, like Opera, also includes a mouse gesture control function among the regular functionality. And it is also enabled by default. To view help about specific mouse gestures, open the "Settings" of the browser.

In the search field of the settings section, enter the keyword “gestures” and check that the “Mouse gestures” option is active. Next, click on the link labeled "More".

Yandex.Browser help opens with active section"Mouse Movement Control", where all supported mouse gestures will be described and illustrated.

Like Opera, Yandex.Browser also allows you to quickly navigate through the history of the tab by holding down the mouse buttons.

Extensions that adapt the browser to control using mouse gestures can offer more functionality than the regular functionality of Opera and Yandex.Browser. Not all of the extensions can boast an impressive list of supported gestures, but most at least provide the ability to customize the mapping of browser commands to mouse gestures. And since both browsers - both Opera and Yandex.Browser - can work with extensions from google store Chrome, at any time them regular function mouse gestures can be disabled and a more functional extension for these purposes can be installed. For example, what will be discussed in the next paragraph of the article.

3. Google Chrome

In the shop Google browser Chrome provides several extensions designed to implement mouse gestures. One of them is an extension with the ordinary name "Mouse Gestures". It is Russified, very simple and impossible better fit to learn this feature. After installing the extension, its button will be embedded on the panel chrome tools. By clicking on the extension button, we will get access to its parameters,

where we can view the pre-installed gestures and, if necessary, reconfigure them to our preferences.

The extension is notable for a couple of gestures for instantly moving up and down a web page. Holding down the right mouse button and scrolling the wheel to the appropriate border is much more effective than awkwardly located on the keyboard home keys and end. After all, such a web element as the “Up” button, not to mention the rarely seen “Down” button, is not present on all sites. Of the others useful features- the ability to reset settings, export-import settings to a file.

The function of export-import settings, if any, should not be neglected. Service Chrome sync can transfer installed within the scope of use Google account extensions. Moreover, even the status of their activity is synchronized. But so far, the settings of each individual Chrome extension cannot be synchronized.

4 Mozilla Firefox

The Mouse Gestures extension discussed in the previous paragraph of the article is also available in the Mozilla Firefox browser store. After installing the extension, we go to the browser add-ons section, where, in particular, you can get by typing in address bar:

In chapter Firefox add-ons switch to the "Extensions" subsection and click the "Settings" button in the "Mouse gestures" extension column.

The extension is identical to the one created for Google Chrome: it also provides user settings and their export-import.

Firefox, like Chrome, is also not perfect in terms of keeping everyone's settings in sync. installed extension.

5. Microsoft Edge (Anniversary Update)

If Windows 10 is updated to the Anniversary Update, in the regular Microsoft browser Edge, you can add an extension to implement the mouse gestures function in this way:

• Select "Extensions" from the menu;

• Next, click on the link to go to Windows Store;

• Install the "Mouse Actions" extension;

• Turn on the extension.

The list of supported gestures will open when you click the extension button, which, after installing it, will appear in Microsoft menu edge.

Mouse Actions Extension - rare case when Microsoft made a complementary product to its main product better than third party developers. The list of supported mouse gestures for Microsoft Edge is larger than what individual extensions can offer in the Chrome and Firefox stores. Microsoft even took care of the stage of learning the correspondence of browser commands to mouse movements: the extension is installed with the “Enable actions performed using the Surface Pro pen” option initially active, which draws each movement of the mouse while holding down its right key, thereby helping to remember the correspondences through visual channel perception.

6. Disadvantages of using mouse gestures

Mouse gesture control greatly speeds up web surfing. It’s like touch typing, but it’s much easier and faster to subconsciously translate several browser commands to mouse movements than to learn how to quickly type text without thinking and without looking at the keyboard. And the computer mouse itself is a device that any more or less experienced user feels like an extension of his hand. However, this feature has its drawbacks.

First, it is a limited area for performing gestures. You can not perform movements anywhere on the web page, there are such zones that no matter how much you draw a gesture, you still get context menu. These zones determine the specifics of the design of each individual site. Mouse gestures may not work even for individual sites. For example, a paradoxical case: considered for chrome extension does not work on this browser's store site.

Secondly, incorrect work mouse gesture functions may be device specific to the mouse itself. For instance, Opera browser fair warning about possible problems when using Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad from Apple.

Thirdly, the lack of uniform standards. When switching to another browser, mouse gestures will need to be retrained, which is much harder to remember from scratch. However, the same can be attributed to the functionality of hot keys.

Have a great day!

Probably many, after working with touch panel tablet or modern phone, experience some discomfort when working with a conventional mouse on regular computer. However, few people use, and many know very little about mouse gestures. Perhaps the reason for this ignorance is that few programs can understand gestures. However, in Opera this method of control is implemented as a regular operation in the 5th version. And for browsers Firefox and Google Chrome this feature can be added using extensions.

What are mouse gestures?

Mouse gestures(English mouse gestures) is a way to control the browser (or program) using mouse movements. These movements form teams. You kind of draw a sign with the mouse, which serves as a command. Usually it looks like this: you press and hold the right mouse button and draw the desired shape with the mouse. Usually these are the simplest movements - from left to right or vice versa, from top to bottom and vice versa, and (a little more difficult) down and to the right, and so on. "Drawing" commands can be faster and easier than searching desired item menu. In addition, this method makes it easier for those who find it difficult to use the keyboard.

Usage problem mouse gestures

The most a big problem using gestures - no common standards application and display of gestures. Each program does this differently. For example, in Opera Mouse gestures are a built-in feature that you only need to enable and use pre-made gestures.

Mouse gestures in Opera.

And now in more detail about how mouse gestures can be used for the most frequently performed operations. Here is one example: Press and hold a key ctrl on your keyboard and scrolling the mouse wheel will zoom the page.

Navigation mouse gestures

Return to previous page:

While holding down the right button, click the left button
Hold down the right button and move the mouse to the left

Go to the next page

Holding down left button, click right click
Hold down the right button and move the mouse to the right

Change to root folder

Hold down the right button and move the mouse up then left

Transition

Hold down the right button and move the mouse to the right then up
By holding down the right button and Shift, move the mouse to the right

Return

Hold down the right button and move the mouse to the left then down
Hold down the right button and Shift, move the mouse to the left

Go to home page

Double click with the left mouse button on a blank page

Refresh the page

Hold down the right button and move the mouse up then down

Stop page loading

Hold down the right button and move the mouse up

Mouse gestures for managing pages

Open a new page

Hold down the right button and move the mouse down
Double-click with the left mouse button in an empty window or on the page panel

Duplicate Page

Hold down the right button and move the mouse down then up

Restore or expand page

Hold down the right button and move the mouse up then right

Collapse page

Hold down the right button and move the mouse down then left

Close page

Hold down the right button and move the mouse down then right
Hold down the right button and move the mouse right-left-right

What about other browsers?

In other browsers, as usual, the lack of functionality is very convenient to add using extensions. Experts recommend for Mozilla Firefox use Firegestures. In the extension settings, you can assign your own gestures that will be convenient for you. And here editing gestures is much more convenient than in Opera or Chrome .

For example, you can make the following settings:

• Gesture down– Close the tab (this is faster than finding a cross on the tab, or pressing Ctrl+W);
• Gesture up– Open the source of the page (it's faster than pressing Ctrl+U);
• Gesture left– Add to Bookmarks (it's faster than pressing Ctrl+D);
• Gesture right- Save the image (it's faster than clicking on the image).

For Google Chrome mouse gestures are also added via plugins. The best plugin many call Smooth Gestures, but its development has now been completed. There is another plugin Gestures for Chrome(TM).

More mouse secrets in browsers

Not everyone knows that mouse wheel there is one interesting assignment. This wheel can be used not only for scrolling the page, but also as a button. If you click the wheel on a link on a page, it will open in a new tab, while you remain in the same window. You can safely finish reading the article while the page opens in a new window. There are a few more secrets that are no longer secrets for many, but for the sake of completeness of the review, it is still worth talking about them.

Mark part of text

Click at the beginning of the text to highlight it, then hold down the button Shift. The required space will be allocated.

Browser - go back and forth

In order to get to the next page, you do not need to click on the corresponding buttons located on the toolbar. Just click Shift and spin the mouse wheel.

Zooming

It is very easy to execute it by turning the scroll while holding the button CTRL. This method can be used in most programs.

Double and triple click

If single click on the word , then there will be established cursor .

If click twice , then it will whole word highlighted .

If click three times (quickly), the offer will stand out .

Fast click 4 times on the mouse button will lead to select the entire paragraph .

Right click dragging

To move a file to Windows, the method is usually used drag'n'drop- we take an element, drag it to the right place and throw it. All the same can be done with the right mouse button. In this case, a context menu opens that allows you to not only move, but also copy the file or create a shortcut in the desired location.

How to select multiple fragments in a text?

When you are working with long text, but you only need individual fragments, it is not necessary to manipulate them individually. Clamp CTRL and highlight the right words and paragraphs, and then copy to the desired location at the same time.

Vertical blocks

This method works in the program Microsoft Word and even in some programs for working with text. Available alternative way range selection. Its essence is that it is possible to distinguish not only horizontal block text, but also vertical. To obtain vertical block- make a selection by holding the key ALT. What is it for? For example, to format the first letters of each line differently.

Finally

Of course, there are many more mouse functions than described in this post. If you know any other secrets and secrets, write about it in the comments. Perhaps others will also find it interesting and useful.