Re: Mouse-button names for southpaws

[Jim Grey <jimgrey -at- IQUEST -dot- NET>]

Carol Atack <carol -at- ANT -dot- CO -dot- UK> weighed in with her mouse button name choices:
>On Acorn computer systems (RISC computers used in English schools) the
>three mouse buttons have the names:

>  Select, Menu, Adjust

>If people reconfigure the buttons to be the other way round, the names are
>the same because they are functional names not positions.

Unfortunately, users have to know button positions to click the correct
button. I find it no help at all when a manual says, "Click the Select mouse
button on the Blah icon," when I don't know which button is Select.  As an
experienced computer user, I'd play with my system until I figured out which
button was which.  But novice users are unlikely to do so.

I used to document UNIX/Mosaic/X software, which used a similar set of
mouse-button names.  A workstation's mouse could be configured so that the
three functions could be assigned to the three (or even two, on some
workstations!) buttons in any combination.  So I couldn't even tell the user
which button was *likely* to be assigned to which function.

Ick.

Peace,
jim
--
jim grey          |beebeebumbleandthestingersmottthehoopleraycharlessingers
jimgrey -at- iquest -dot- net|lonniemackandtwangin'eddiehere'smyringwe'regoingsteadyta
                  |http://www.iquest.net/~jimgrey/

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Post Message:	TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Get Commands:	LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU with "help" in body.
Unsubscribe:	LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU with "signoff TECHWR-L"
Listowner:	ejray -at- ionet -dot- net