gnome-control-center/help/C/config-mouse.xml

<sect1 id="config-mouse">
  <title>Mouse</title>

  <sect2 id="config-mouse-introduction">
    <title>Introduction</title>

    <para>The mouse capplet in the <application>GNOME Control
    Center</application> helps to configure properties of the mouse. These
    are:</para>

    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>for the <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab: mouse acceleration,
        mouse sensitivity, double-click timout, drag and drop treshold,
        pointer location and left handed or right handed mouse usage</para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>for the <guilabel>Accessibility</guilabel> tab: simulated
        secondary click and dwell click</para>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
  </sect2>

  <sect2 id="config-mouse-general">
    <title>The <guilabel>General</guilabel> Tab</title>

    <para>The <guilabel>General</guilabel> tab offers the commonly used
    settings of the mouse.</para>

    <sect3 id="config-mouse-general-orientation">
      <title>Mouse Orientation</title>

      <para>A user controls the mouse differently based on him being right or
      left handed.</para>

      <para>If he is right handed, the mouse typically sits on the right hand
      side of the desk. The primary button (action button) is on the left of
      the mouse, so that he can press it with his index finger, while the
      secondary button (menu button) is on the right. </para>

      <para>However, if he is left handed, the mouse sits on the left hand
      side of the desk. Consequently, in order to allow him to operate the
      primary button with his index finger of his left hand, the primary and
      the secondary button of the mouse have to be swapped. </para>

      <para>That is the purpose of the <guilabel>Mouse Orientation</guilabel>
      setting: select the <guibutton>Right-handed</guibutton> button if you
      are right handed, or the <guibutton>Left-handed</guibutton> button if
      you are left handed. When using the setting appropriate to him, the user
      has the primary button under his index finger. </para>
    </sect3>

    <sect3 id="config-mouse-general-cursors-locate">
      <title>Locate Pointer</title>

      <para>Sometimes, the user loses where the pointer is. If he selects the
      <guibutton>Show position of pointer when the Control key is
      pressed</guibutton>, he can make the pointer reappear by pressing the
      control key.</para>
    </sect3>

    <sect3 id="config-mouse-general-speed">
      <title>Pointer Speed</title>

      <para>Every user has different favorites regarding the relation between
      the movement of the mouse and the movement of the pointer. In order to
      tune it to his taste, he can use the <guilabel>Acceleration</guilabel>
      and the <guilabel>Sensitivity</guilabel> settings: </para>

      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para><guilabel>Acceleration</guilabel>: it sets the linear factor
          between mouse movement and pointer movement</para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para><guilabel>Sensitivity</guilabel>: it sets the threshold speed
          at which the mouse will start accelerating</para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist>

      <para>For example, by setting the sensitivity to its lowest, the mouse
      will move all the time with no acceleration adjustment; in this case,
      there is a perfect mouse distance to pixel distance ratio.</para>
    </sect3>

    <sect3 id="config-mouse-general-dnd">
      <title>Drag and Drop</title>

      <para>Drag and drop is clicking an object, and dragging it to another
      place on the screen, causing an event to occur.</para>

      <para>You need to drag it a certain amount of distance before the system
      will recognize it as a drag and drop operation. To configure how far to
      drag it, move the <guilabel>Treshold</guilabel> slider left or
      right.</para>
    </sect3>

    <sect3 id="config-mouse-general-double-click">
      <title>Double-click Delay</title>

      <para>When a user performs two clicks with the primary button, the
      system considers them as a double-click or as two single clicks
      depending on the delay that has elapsed between the two clicks. </para>

      <para>With the <guilabel>Timeout</guilabel> slider, the user can set the
      maximum delay that can elapse between the two clicks for them to be
      still considered as a double-click. If the delay between the two clicks
      is greater than the maximum delay that has been set, the two clicks are
      considered as two single clicks instead of a double click.</para>

      <para>Consequently: the shorter the timeout, the less time can elapse
      between the two clicks of a double-click.</para>

      <para>The user can test the timeout that he has set by clicking on the
      light bulb, that will light on, if a double-click is detected.</para>
    </sect3>
  </sect2>

  <sect2>
    <title id="config-mouse-a11y">The Accessibility Tab</title>

    <para>The <guilabel>Accessibility</guilabel> tab brings additional
    functions to the mouse. It allows the the user to perform a secondary
    click by using the primary button; it also allows him to perform all the
    different click types without using any hardware button.</para>

    <sect3 id="config-mouse-a11y-simulated-secondary-click">
      <title>Simulated Secondary Click</title>

      <para>There are users that can use only one mouse button. By activating
      the <guilabel>Simulated Secondary Click</guilabel>, these users have a
      direct way to perform secondary clicks with their unique mouse button.
      In fact, the secondary click occurs automatically when the user keeps
      the primary button pressed for a determined delay without moving the
      mouse.</para>

      <para>The <guilabel>Simulated Secondary Click</guilabel> also offers a
      slider named <guilabel>Delay</guilabel> to configure how long the user
      has to press the button and keep the mouse motionless, before the
      secondary click is automatically performed.</para>
    </sect3>

    <sect3 id="config-mouse-a11y-dwell">
      <title>Dwell Click</title>

      <para>There are users that cannot use any hardware button. By activating
      the <guilabel>Dwell Click</guilabel>, they can have the mouse perform
      the various clicks without pressing any mousebutton. The click types
      that can be performed are: single click, double-click, drag click and
      secondary click.</para>

      <para>To make the mouse perform the clicks without a mousebutton being
      pressed, the user has to put a mark in the box named <guilabel>Initiate
      click when stopping pointer movement</guilabel>. How the click is
      completed and how the click type is chosen depends on what dwell mode
      the user is using. The two available modes are: </para>

      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>automatic click completion with click type chosen
          beforehand</para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>click completion and click type choice by a mouse gesture
          after click initiation</para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist>

      <para>With the <guilabel>Delay</guilabel> slider, the user can configure
      how long the pointer has to be motionless for the click to be
      initiated.</para>

      <para>For people that have trouble to keep the mouse motionless, there
      is the <guilabel>Motion Treshold</guilabel> slider. When the slider is
      set towards low, even little mouse movements are considered; however, by
      setting a higher treshold, the mouse has to traverse a bigger distance
      before it is considered as moving.</para>

      <para>As said above, the user can choose between two modes for the click
      type choice and click completion:</para>

      <sect4 id="config-mouse-accessibility-dwell-ctw">
        <title>Dwell Click With Automatic Click Completion And Click Type
        Choice Beforehand</title>

        <para>This mode is active when the user selects <guilabel>Choose type
        of click beforehand</guilabel>. In fact, after the mouse has been
        motionless for the above predefined delay, the system will
        automatically perform the click type that is selected in the Click
        Type Window. </para>

        <para>After the click has occurred, the single click type will be
        automatically restored. In order to choose another click type, the
        user has to perform an automatic click on the
        <guibutton>button</guibutton> in the Click Type Window that
        corresponds to its click type choice.</para>

        <para>To make the Click Type Window appear on the screen, the user has
        to put a mark into the checkbox named <guilabel>Show click type
        window</guilabel>. Some users might prefer to use the <guilabel>Dwell
        Click panel applet</guilabel> instead of the Click Type Window. The
        advantage of the panel applet is that it does not cover any open
        window on the desktop.</para>
      </sect4>

      <sect4 id="config-mouse-accessibility-dwell-gestures">
        <title>Dwell Click With Click Type Choice And Click Completion By A
        Mouse Gesture</title>

        <para>This mode is used when the user selects <guilabel>Choose type of
        click with mouse gestures</guilabel>. In fact, after the mouse has
        been motionless for the above predefined delay, the shape of the
        pointer will change for a little while:</para>

        <itemizedlist>
          <listitem>
            <para>If the user moves the mouse while it is showing the
            alternative shape, a click is performed and the pointer returns to
            its normal shape. The type of click performed depends on the
            direction of the movement of the mouse.</para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>If the mouse stays motionless until the pointer returns to
            its normal shape, the user can move the mouse without a click
            being performed. The next dwell click can be performed when the
            mouse stops moving again.</para>
          </listitem>
        </itemizedlist>

        <para>The user also has the possibility to match click type with
        movement direction by using the 4 <guimenu>popups</guimenu> available
        under this mode.</para>
      </sect4>
    </sect3>
  </sect2>
</sect1>