What is AutoClick

AutoClick is a feature designed to lessen strains associated with mousing. Along with some special hotkeys in the KeyControl features, there are 3 main ways RSIGuard can help reduce mouse strain:

1. When you move the mouse to a new location, AutoClick will automatically click for you.

   Each time you move the mouse and then stop, the mouse will automatically click. This means you no longer need to grasp the mouse, or hold your finger in a static position over the mouse button waiting to click, or perform any fine-motor activity to click the mouse. The lack of fine-motor activity will significantly reduce your risk of developing injuries that would otherwise result from such highly repetitive movement. Depending on your overall exposures, this may significantly reduce your risk of injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, deQuervain's syndrome or tendinitis.
   This feature requires some getting used to because you won't be expecting mouse clicks to occur every time you move the mouse. But after a short time, most people find that they acclimate to the new way of working. The benefit is huge, however, as you not only eliminate the stress of clicking, but also eliminate the static postures normally associated with mouse use. Mouse usage is a highly repetitive fine-motor task and is believed to be a common cause of RSI, so we recommend trying AutoClick.

2. By pressing a KeyControl hotkey, you can perform a single click, double click, triple click, or right click.

   Normally, AutoClick's automatic clicks are single left clicks. You can change this default automatic click to be a double left click or a right click. But whatever AutoClick does normally, at times you will want some other kind of click. KeyControl hotkeys let you define a keyboard shortcut to do all common clicks with a single keypress.

3. By pressing KeyControl's DragLock hotkey, AutoClick will hold the mouse button down until you press another key (or click the mouse). This lets you drag to select or move things without the strain of holding the mouse button.

   One of the most straining actions you can do on a computer is to move a pointing device around while tensely holding down a button (an action known as dragging, even though sometimes you might be selecting rather than dragging). This feature allows you to position the mouse (or other pointing device) to the point where you want to start the drag/selection, tap a hotkey, and then drag the mouse around without having to actually hold the button down. While drag-lock is active, the icon in the system tray changes into a blinking lock. Pressing any key (except the arrow keys) or clicking the mouse will end the drag (by simulating the release of the mouse button). During a drag, the arrow keys allow you to move the mouse cursor around in a more controlled way (separating horizontal and vertical motion). This can be very useful at times and can also be helpful to allow people with disabilities to do mousework more easily.

Setting up AutoClick for use

To enable or disable AutoClick, check or uncheck Enable AutoClick.

There are various settings to customize the AutoClick.

• Trigger Time - The mouse pointer must be still for at least this long before AutoClick will automatically click. The length of time is shown in the Settings screen in tenths of a second (e.g. 4 = 4/10ths of a second). Set this setting to a lower number (e.g. 4) as you become more adept at using AutoClick to make clicks occur more rapidly. Set this number higher while you learn to use AutoClick (e.g. 8) or if you have a disability that limits your control of the mouse position.
• Trigger Distance - The mouse pointer must move at least this many screen dots (or pixels) after an automatic click before it will click again. This prevents automatic clicks if the mouse jitters or wiggles a few pixels after you let go of it. If your mouse has a tendency to slide when not in use, increase this number. If your mouse cord pulls your mouse when you release it (causing unwanted AutoClicks) you may benefit from using a cordless mouse, a mouse-pad with a rougher surface, or an alternate pointing device like a trackball or touchpad.
• Give audio feedback for AutoClicks - By checking this option, you will hear a sound each time AutoClick clicks. You can select whether AutoClick makes a simple system beep through your computer speaker (the same sound for all clicks but no sound card is required) or unique sounds for each click through your sound card (requires a sound card with speakers).
• Show visual feedback for AutoClicks - If enabled, AutoClick will show visual pointers that indicate that AutoClick is active, and remind you when AutoClick is about to automatically click. This is very helpful for learning AutoClick, especially if you do not have the audible clicks setting enabled.
• Left-Handed Mouse Configuration - Check this option to reverse clicking logic for left-handed mouse usage. Checking this setting also automatically changes Windows to the left-handed mouse configuration for you (normally available in the Windows Control Panel).

Defining AutoClick Hotkeys

Hotkeys associated with AutoClick (as well as all other hotkeys) are defined under the KeyControl settings page.

Editing AutoClick Filters

AutoClick Filters allow you to change AutoClick's behavior in certain programs or over certain buttons. For example, the above 3 rules do:

1. When the mouse cursor is over the main RSIGuard window, AutoClick will always do single left clicks, regardless of what the specified default click type is. If you specify that AutoClick's default click is 'no click', then you can add a separate rule for each program for which you wish to individually enable AutoClick.
2. When the mouse cursor is over a button with the text "Delete" it will not click. Note that this kind of filter does not always work over buttons where the specified word is drawn as an image. You may need to test this to be sure if the filter can detect the text on the button you are trying to exclude.
3. When the mouse cursor is over a program named "Launcher", it will do all automatic clicks as double clicks.

You can also specify 5 other special filters that prevent AutoClick from clicking on the "Close Window" button, on "Minimize" or "Maximize" buttons, on window borders, on program menus, or on the title bar of applications.

To add a new custom filter, click on "Add New AutoClick Filter". You will see the following window:

This window will guide you through the process of selecting:

1. The category of filter (program, button, or window class).
2. The name of the item to filter.
3. What to do when the cursor is over the specified item within the specified category.

Advanced Settings

The window below shows the advanced options for further fine-tuning of AutoClick

• Don't AutoClick right after typing - This lets you prevent AutoClick from clicking while you are typing. If you bump the mouse or move the cursor out of the way to read something you just typed, AutoClick knows not to click.
• Don't AutoClick after a regular mouse click - When you click the mouse by pressing the button yourself, AutoClick momentarily shuts off. After the preset time has passed, automatic clicks can occur again. Thus, if AutoClick is interfering with something, you need only do the clicks yourself and AutoClick won't interfere.
• Delay AutoClick for ToolTips - When you pass the mouse over some items, helpful tips called ToolTips pop up. Clicking the mouse makes them go away, so, with this option checked, AutoClick will delay its Automatic click for the amount of time you specify so that you can still read the tip. If you don't care about ToolTips, uncheck this and AutoClick will click faster.
• Default AutoClick Type - This defines what an automatic click will do assuming no AutoClick filter overrides it. Normally, this is set to Single Click, but if you wish to specifically enable AutoClick for certain programs only using AutoClick filters, you'd set this to No Click. Only in rare situations, would you want to set this to Double or Right click.
• AutoClick Hotkey Operation - There are two ways to use KeyControl's AutoClick Hotkeys. In "Immediate" mode, pressing the hotkey causes the mouse click to occur immediately after you press the hotkey. In "Override" mode, pressing an AutoClick hotkey changes what the next automatic click will do (but the hotkey doesn't actually perform the click).
• Intra-click Spacing - This setting defines if there should be a tenth of a second pause between the down and up portion of an autoclick. Some applications will ignore automatically generated clicks if there is no time space between the down and up portions (so this is the default). However, the pause can lead to short drag & drop operations if just as the autoclick occurs you move the pointing device. If you do not use one of the rare applications that require a pause, unchecking this box will eliminate the possible unintended drag & drops.