|
|
|
To increase the amount of distance you can cover with a single hand motion, go to the Mouse Control Panel settings and move the sliding bar all the way to the right in the control for Mouse Tracking Speed.
Perk up your keyboard's responsiveness when running multiple applications by editing the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file. Look for a line that says KeyBoostTime= and change the setting to .005 (the default is .001). If this line doesn't exist, add it. This setting controls the amount of time allocated to an application when it receives a keystroke. The higher the number, the higher the priority the keystrokes going into your current application have.
Edit your WIN.INI file to specify how your keyboard acts. The KeyboardDelay= line specifies the length of time you have to press a key before the character is repeated. The default is 2 (milliseconds). Reducing this value makes creating repeat characters easier; increasing it makes it harder. Editing the KeyboardSpeed= line lets you determine how fast the characters repeat after the initial repeat. The default, 31, is as high as you can go. You can slow the repetition speed by reducing the number. You may also change these parameters through the Keyboard section of the Control Panel.
You can use either COM1 or COM2 to connect your serial mouse. However, Microsoft recommends that you choose COM1 whenever possible. Windows finds and services the mouse more quickly on this COM port, although either will work.
To avoid repetitive motion disorders, position your keyboard so that it is at wrist level, about 26.5 inches high (rather than at the 29-inch desktop height). Often you can add a keyboard shelf to your current desktop for this purpose.
Adjust the height of your chair to correspond with the height of your keyboard. You should be able to hold your wrists parallel with the keyboard.
Don't sit at the computer for hours on end. Switch to another task or get up and walk around to give your wrists a rest periodically throughout the day so stress doesn't build up.
If you often habla Espanol or parle Francais, use Control Panel to set up your keyboard to work with other languages. In Win95, click on Keyboard, then Language/Add Language. In Win 3.*x*, click on International. You may have to use the setup diskette to load the new .DLL if you haven't done it in the past. If a driver is already present, indicate whether you want to use the resident file or load a new one.
If double-clicking in Windows doesn't get you a response, your mouse driver may be to blame. Select Mouse Manager from Control Panel and click on the Sensitivity button. Adjust the double-click speed with the sliding bar. Test the new speed in the box provided.
With version 9.*x* of the Microsoft Mouse driver, you can have your mouse pointer jump automatically to the default button in a dialog box. Just open the Mouse Manager control panel and check the box labeled Snap-To.
For precision mousework, associate a hotkey combination with the Magnify function in Mouse Manager. Place the pointer over the area you want to magnify and press the hotkey combination to change your pointer to a magnifying glass.
Does your portable make you hunt for your mouse pointer? From Control Panel, click on Mouse Pointer, select Locate and specify a hotkey combination. The next time the pointer disappears, press the hotkey combination to bring it front and center.
|
|
|