To report a bug, send email over the information wagon trail to:
danwr@kagi.com
You can obtain the latest version of “ClickPad II” by harnessing up your web browser and directing it to:
http://www.halcyon.com/danwr/smoothie.html
You can also view the hypertext version of this document online at this site.
Price: ClickPad II is $14 (USA dollars) for an individual users. You can purchase a site license (to cover all employees in one city) or a world-wide license (to cover the field offices as well). For more information, see “What is Shareware?” and “Payment,” below.
Why ClickPad II is Better than Sliced Bread
ClickPad II allows you to use the TrackPad on your PowerBook 520, 540, or 5300 without subjecting your thumb to the ergonomic horrors of the TrackPad button.
To click using ClickPad II, just tap the trackpad with a spare finger.
To double-click, just tap the trackpad twice.
To hold the virtual ClickPad button down:
• Position the TrackPad cursor
• Tap once, then immediately plop your finger back down (down, quickly up, quickly back down and hold)
• You don’t need to hold your finger down and wait; if you want to drag, just start moving your finger
• To release the virtual button, lift your finger and wait. If it releases too slowly, you can release it more quickly by tapping the TrackPad again (as you did to start the drag).
• Oops — you ran out of pad? Quickly lift your finger, move it back to the center of the TrackPad, lower your finger, and away you go. If you lift your finger off the TrackPad for too long, ClickPad II will release the button. [If you like, you can now turn this feature off; see “Drag Pauses” below]
You can also lock the virtual button down so that it won’t be automatically released:
• Position the TrackPad cursor
• Tap once, then immediately put your finger back down and hold it there without moving
• When you hear the low-pitched (lock) sound, the button is locked down. You can now move the cursor about, head off to the kitchen for a snack, and return later to complete the drag. This can also be used to hold down the button over a scroll bar arrow to scroll continuously. If you leave your finger off the TrackPad for an extended period, ClickPad II will repeat the lock sound as a reminder (note: if the sound volume is turned all the way off, ClickPad II will automatically release the lock instead).
• To release the lock, tap the TrackPad again with your finger.
Using ClickPad II with your PowerBook allows a much softer touch than pressing the physical button on the TrackPad and will ensure many hours of increased productivity; eating sliced bread which using your PowerBook will just leave you with lots of itty bitty crumbs clogging up your keyboard (and if you spread honey on your sliced bread…<shudder> don’t get me started).
Requirements
ClickPad II requires a PowerBook with a TrackPad; specifically, the PowerBook 500 and 5300 families are supported. The PowerBook 1400, 2300, and 3400 families are not, because these models come with TrackPads that exhibit ClickPad-like behavior right out of the box. The PowerBook G3 and all future PowerBooks won't work with ClickPad II either.
Installing & Configuring ClickPad II
Drag the control panel “ClickPad II” to your system folder icon and allow the system to move it to the control panels folder. Restart your PowerBook and you’re ready to go.
From the control panel, you can enable/disable ClickPad II without having to reboot, enable/disable audio feedback, and enable/disable automatic menu locking (the virtual button is automatically locked down when you click in the menu bar; it is released when you click again) – this is like the old freeware extension StickyClick.
Control Panel Settings
With one exception (“Pop-ups Stick”), all changes to settings take effect immediately.
G E N E R A L S E T T I N G S
• On
Turns ClickPad II on or off.
• Make Sounds
Make clicking sounds (three sounds: click down, click up, and click lock).
• Louder
Boosts the ClickPad sound volume.
• Shorter Clicks
Single-clicks terminate more quickly when “Shorter Clicks” is on. The chief disadvantage of shorter clicks is that some applications ignore clicks that are too brief (typically clicks in floating palettes or custom controls).
• Visit web page [Requires Internet Config]
Launches web browser and connects to http://www.halcyon.com/danwr/smoothie.html.
• danwr@kagi.com [Requires Internet Config]
Launches your e-mail client to allow you to send a message to the author.
D R A G G I N G
• Menus Stick
When set, clicking on the menu bar locks the button down automatically. Pop-up menus will also stick, if the “Pop-ups Stick” is also on.
• Pop-ups Stick
Controls whether pop-up menus stick when “Menus Stick” is on. By default, they do. [The primary reason for turning this setting off is a matter of compatibility: This is the only ClickPad II feature that involves a global system patch; if you wish to be absolutely pure you can turn it off and prevent that patch from being applied at boot time. For this very reason, you may need to reboot before a change to this setting will take full effect.]
• Button Locks
Turning this on causes the (physical) TrackPad button to lock the (virtual) button down. To unlock it, tap the TrackPad, or press the physical TrackPad button a second time.
• Drag Pauses
When dragging with the virtual button unlocked, you can “pause” the drag by lifting your finger and repositioning your finger on the TrackPad (if you don’t put your finger back on the pad quickly enough, ClickPad II will automatically release the virtual button). As a result, there is a brief pause between when you lift your finger and the end of the drag. You can eliminate this delay by turning off “Drag Pauses.” You can also release the virtual button more quickly by tapping the TrackPad when you wish it to be released.
• Flash Caps Lock [Only for supported keyboards]
When activated, ClickPad II will flash the indicator light on your caps lock key once every two seconds during drag-locks as a reminder (this is an alternative/supplement to the audio reminder).
T A P S
• Finger Movement
To reduce unintended taps (“stray click syndrome”), move this slider to the left; to reduce unrecognized taps, move this slider to the right. This controls the allowable finger movement during a tap — if the cursor moves too far when you tap, ClickPad II interprets it as a stray brush against the pad or as an intentional cursor movement. Each notch on the slider, from left to right, corresponds to one additional pixel of allowable movement. The original ClickPad and all versions of ClickPad II prior to 2.2 used the fifth setting (rightmost tic mark on the slider).
• Tap Time
For faster clicking response, move this slider to the left; to reduce unrecognized clicks, move this slider to the right. This slider controls the maximum duration of a tap: if you leave your finger on the pad (and in place) longer than this time, it is not a tap (it could be a move or a drag). ClickPad and versions of ClickPad II prior to 2.2 used a value that was half of your double-click time (specified in the Mouse and TrackPad control panels).
• Intertap Time
To reduce unintended drags, move this slider to the left; to reduce unrecognized drags, move this slider to the right. This slider controls the allowable time between the leading tap and the main part of a drag. It is also used for drag-pausing — this controls how quickly ClickPad II auto-releases drags (remember, you can also terminate a drag by tapping).
Trouble-Shooting
Problem: The icon for “ClickPad II” shown in the Finder does not match the one in this document
Solution: Rebuild your desktop database by restarting your computer while holding down the Option and Command keys until a dialog appears. Click “OK” when asked if you want to rebuild your desktop.
Problem: With “Drag Pauses” enabled, the virtual button is released too slowly/imprecisely following a drag.
Solution: Of course you could turn off “Drag Pauses,” but this isn’t necessary: you can terminate a drag very precisely by tapping the TrackPad when you want the virtual button to be released.
Problem: Every time I tap the TrackPad, ClickPad II responds with a double-click (but with the single-click sound).
Solution: You still have a copy of ClickPad (1.0) installed. Remove it from your Extensions folder and restart.
Problem: When I (try to) move the cursor around the screen, I get [several/dozens] of stray clicks.
Solution: You can avoid this most easily be keeping your finger completely on the TrackPad while moving the mouse (remember that the TrackPad does not work by pressure, it works by electrical conductivity — so very poorly-conductive surfaces such as your fingernails or a plastic pen will work poorly if at all; use the pad of your finger, and use only one finger at a time). You can also make ClickPad II more sensitive to movement — open the control panel, switch to the “Taps” tab, and move the “Finger Movement” slider one notch further left. This change takes effect immediately.
Problem: ClickPad II seems to ignore (some/most/nearly all) of my taps.
Solution: (1) Open the control panel and switch to the “Taps” tab. If the “Finger Movement” slider is all the way to the left, try moving it one or two notches toward the right. (2) In the “Taps” tab, try moving the “Tap Time” slider one or two notches toward the right.
Problem: The email and/or web buttons in the control panel don’t seem to work.
Solution: ClcikPad II uses Internet Config to launch your preferred email program and web browser; by default.
What is Shareware?
ClickPad II is shareware. Shareware is software distributed via local bulletin board systems (BBS), commercial online services, user groups, and between friends. You are allowed to use shareware for a trial period before you pay for it, but you must pay for it after that time.
Shareware exists because people (like you) continue to pay on this honor system. As a user of shareware, you benefit because you get to try the software to see if you like it before you pay.
Pricing
ClickPad II is $14 (USA dollars) for an individual users. You can purchase a site license (to cover all employees in one city) or a world-wide license (to cover the field offices as well).
To register, open the “Register” program that accompanies ClickPad II (if it’s missing, you can get a copy from the ClickPad II web site). Enter your name, your email address (important — this is where your serial number will be sent!) and the number of single user licenses you desire. Save or Copy or Print the data from the Register program and send the data and payment to Kagi Shareware. Kagi Shareware handles my payment processing. Their email address is sales@kagi.com and their fax number is 1-510-652-6589. Payments sent via email are processed within 3 to 4 days. You will receive an email acknowledgement when it is processed. Payments sent via fax take up to 10 days and if you provide a correct internet address you will receive an email acknowledgement.
If you are paying with cach or check (in United States dollars, drawn on a U.S. bank) you should print the data using the Register program and send it to the address shown on the form, which is:
Kagi Shareware
1442-A Walnut Street #392-WR
Berkeley, California 94709-1405
USA
Important: When you send in your payment, be sure to include a current, correct email address so that I can send you your serial number (this will generally be about 2-4 days after you receive your email receipt from Kagi). When you receive your serial number, you will be able to personalize your copy of ClickPad II and disable the payment reminders. You will also need that serial number for technical support.
Contacting the Author
To obtain the latest release, visit the ClickPad II web site:
http://www.halcyon.com/danwr/smoothie.html
To report a bug, request a feature, or just shower me in praise/scorn, send e-mail:
danwr@kagi.com
For a snail mail (postal) address, please contact me via e-mail, or check the above web site. I try to respond to all e-mail I receive, but I frequently get overloaded, so please be patient, especially if you’re reporting a bug — in most cases I won't reply until/unless I have a fix or need more information. For a speedier response, be sure to include your serial number in all correspondence.
Disclaimer of Warranty
This software and related documentation is provided "AS IS" and without warranty of any kind, without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Credits and History
ClickPad II owes a debt to the original ClickPad by Bruce Oberg, of course, and uses the same underlying method to work its magic. ClickPad II, like the original ClickPad, does not install any trap patches, so the chances of a conflict are tiny. Bruce credits Rich Kubota, Gordon Sheridan, and Brian Bechtel for ClickPad, so I think they deserve mention here as well. Kudos to all the early ClickPad II pioneers who sent in bug reports!
New/Changed in 2.2.1 – 2.2.3:
• Changed the “Registration” button to look more like a button. Added a “Pay” button to the registration dialog that launches the “Register” program. Revised the in-use-since date to use the ordering more commonly used outside the United States.
• Fixed a minor control panel checkmark display problem under Mac OS 8.
• Fixed “Louder Sounds” bug: the control panel was not writing the correct value to the preferences file
• Delayed sound channel initialization: some control panels throw up dialogs during the boot process; if they do so at just the right (wrong) time, ClickPad II would initialize its sound channel when the dialog when up, and the Sound Manager might as a result hang or crash when ClickPad II attempted to use it later. ClickPad II now re-initializes its channel automatically once the Process Manager is loaded (after all extensions and control panels have executed). This is an extension of the first fix listed for version 2.1.
• Fixed a handful of typographical errors in this file.
• The email button in the control panel in 2.2.2 still specified 2.2.1 in the subject of the mail message.
• QuickTime 2.5 workaround: if installed, drag-lock does not release automatically if the sound volume is turned all the way off (it is not safe to check the sound volume under Sound Manager 3.1, which is part of QuickTime 2.5).
• Flash Caps Lock: Extended support to ISO (international symbolic) and JIS (Japanese) keyboards.
• Minor bug fixes
• Changed all references to email address to danwr@kagi.com.
New/Changed in 2.2:
• Polished & reorganized control panel interface; added balloon help and a control for toggling balloon help.
• Added direct links to the web site and e-mail (Internet Config 1.1 or later required — and of course internet access from your PowerBook)
• Bug fix: When the click/lock sound channel had to be thrown out or initialized (at boot, on wakeup, when the sound settings are changed, and when the sound channel becomes corrupt), there were opportunities for the sound channel to be used when it was in an unusable state (e.g., if you tapped the pad while the channel was being initialized, the machine could crash).
• Flash Caps Lock: Pulses the light on the caps lock key (pulses on if caps lock is off, pulses off if caps lock is on) while drag-locked. Originally available only with the 5300 US keyboard.
• Button Locks: It now unlocks, too. This setting now automatically disables the timed-drag-lock (you can still unlock by tapping on the TrackPad).
• Sliders for configuring ClickPad II to conform to your clicking habits: adjust the allowable movement range for taps, the maximum duration of taps, and the maximum time for initiating/pausing a drag.
New/Changed in 2.1:
• Delayed initialization of sound is now done with the assistance of the Notification Manager (eliminating the _SystemTask patch)
• Added a Sleep Manager task: CPII now rebuilds the sound channel on wake-up.
• Shorter clicks available via a control panel switch (implemented by postponing the click-down until half the delay to the click-up has passed). It was necessary to change the popup-menu patch to support sticky-popups with the shorter clicks.
• Added the option to disable sticky-popups separately from sticky-menus; this allows you to avoid trap-patches all together (in the event of actual conflicts or rampant paranoia).
• General-purpose drag-locking: start dragging the usual way, but don't move your finger until the lock sound is played. Terminate by tapping. If you leave your finger off for a while, CPII “thocks” to remind you that it’s locked (if the sound volume is all the way off, CPII auto-terminates the drag instead!) You can also drag-lock with the physcial TrackPad button (unlock the usual way, not with the button), if you set the appropriate switch in the control panel.
• Drag-pausing, which causes a delay at the end of a drag before auto-termination (to allow the drag to be continued), can now be turned off.
• CPII now checks for an external mouse on wake-up, too (not just boot).
• Added option to boost the click volume.
• Normally, CPII snoozes to allow sleep & screen-dimming to occur; starting with 2.1, CPII will not snooze if sleep & screen-dimming are disabled (set to “Never”). If you turn these sleep-settings off, CPII will no longer grow bored and inattentive; indeed, it will become a happy, excitable fool, always eager and ready to serve at moment’s notice.
• [With sleep and/or screen-dimming enabled:] CPII will be more attentive when your PowerBook is plugged in — a little less drowsy, a bit slower to snooze, and more readily awakened. CPII behaves as before when running on battery power.
• ClickPad II is now shareware
• Other changes to the control panel interface
Changed/Fixed in 2.0.1 – 2.0.4:
• Added detection of an external mouse at boot; if one is installed, ClickPad II avoids talking to the TrackPad at the same time as the mouse driver is speaking to the mouse.
• Minor performance tweaking
• Now works with 7.5.3 500-series TrackPad driver. For some reason Apple took out the 'tpad' gestalt selector.
• Fixed a problem on some systems where “Make Sounds” didn’t work unless you opened the control panel and toggled the setting. Under system 7.5.3 this is a problem with the Sound control panel.
Changed/Fixed in ClickPad II 2.0 (vs the original ClickPad):
• ClickPad did not work on the new PowerBooks (190 and the 5300 family) because of a slight change in the TrackPad driver software.
• ClickPad did not work exactly right with an external pointing device (e.g., a mouse) plugged in. ClickPad II does.
• ClickPad prevented the new PowerBooks from sleeping or dimming the display, and used the processor fairly heavily (resulting in increased power usage and perhaps slightly slower performance). ClickPad II is more responsive during heavy trackpad usage and “dozes” when you stop using the trackpad to reduce CPU & power usage.
• You can now “lock” the trackpad button down, allow drags and menu selection without using the (physical) trackpad button. Way cool.
• ClickPad II provides audio feedback; this helps with dragging the cursor. Hopefully it's subtle (read: quiet) enough to use in an environment like a meeting or airplane (it's actually slightly quieter than the keyboard on my machine).
Fine print: Trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Didja know SimpleText doesn’t support shift–arrow to select text? Nor does it support option-arrow, nor command-arrow. Actually, it does in read-only documents, but not in editable documents. The shift-arrow thing is really beginning to annoy me.
