Version 2.0 of this application is available in another post. It has MANY new features and is much more solid than this version. Find the article here:
http://savij.com/2009/12/25/multiple-mouse-speeds-in-windows/
As I write this post, I have my laptop with it’s nifty TrackPad (TouchPad). I recently added a BlueTooth mouse to the mix. Ok, so I couldn’t use my mouse with my laptop while sitting on the couch! Where was I to put my mouse? I already own a Belkin lap pad thing to keep the flaming inferno of heat off of my crotch, but still my mouse sat next to me on the couch yearning to be touched. So enter ANOTHER device I got from Logitech. A small platform that I put on top of the Belkin lap pad. My Laptop sits on top of the Logitech platform and it has a pull out mouse pad. FINALLY, I can use my mouse. So I sync the BlueTooth mouse, piece of cake. But I now noticed that the resolution of the mouse is WAY more accurate than the TrackPad. What this means is that while the trackpad works fine, breathing on the mouse causes my pointer to go off the screen at warp factor 5.6. So, I figure, just head off to the control panel and setup both right? WRONG! Windows 7 STILL does not have built in support for more than one pointing device. While this could be a shortcoming of my mouse, it is bluetooth and I should not have to install extra drivers for it. I know you say if I have a mouse, why worry about the damn trackpad at all, but sometimes I am mobile. Sometimes I dont have my mouse with me. After all, one of the things I love about laptops is that I can just grab it and go.
The SOLUTION
I noticed that a lot of people have this problem. I also could not find an easy solution out there. Then I thought, “Stupid ass!” I am a programmer. So I just made one. It is really simple and could use a lot of refinement, but I didnt want this to be a big project. So I threw it together in about an hour and a half.
It uses a call to the API SystemParametersInfo to control the mouse. I did find some help online with it’s implementation. Then I made a little sys-tray app out of it. You can set how ever many devices you want to control. For instance I have a mouse and a trackpad. So I set it to 2 devices. I then adjust the slider for device 1 to set the speed for my mouse. I then change the dropdown to device 2 and set the speed for my trackpad. Then I just minimize the app. It disappears to the sys-tray where I can right click it to switch between the device 1 and device 2 settings. I can also double click it to bring the application window back up. All of the settings get saved in isolated storage and the app installs to the startup folder so it runs when windows starts. YAY!
See the link at the top of this post for the latest download. Let me know what you think….
