Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Gesture Controls

I use a lot of gestures (control-G) for things I say in text. (As opposed to other gestures I use, which you can't see.)

For example, F5 is my applause, F7 is my pre-show link list for Debauche shows, and F12 is bow.

To remember them all, I put a strip of white medical tape over the function key row and write a one-word reminder what they are in permanent ink.
(I think I talked about this a while back... also posted it on Flickr too)

updated gesture shortcuts

The problem is, you can't gesture control everything.

You need to remember the keyboard shortcuts for them, otherwise, you end up having to dive into menus.

Now, for some, such as Chat Console and Shadows and Name Tags, you can configure your Firestorm Quick Preferences for easy access.
(I went over that about a year ago here, I think.)

But for others, such as Midday and Midnight, you're kinda stuck.

And some of those keyboard combinations are difficult for those of us who sometimes can't quite get our fingers to do exactly what we want them to. (My left hand has some nerve issues due to elbow surgery 7 years ago.)

Or remember what each keyboard shortcut combo is. Or maybe my left hand is busy on my Spacenavigator and I don't have a second hand free for something quickly.

This is where I take a step back and go to the Windows level of control.
There are trackpad gestures available to control things.

For my Asus (Windows) laptop, I use three-finger gestures to control the daylight and midnight settings.

Here's how I did it:

1. Windows Start Menu - Gear Icon (Settings)
2. Click Devices
3. Click Touchpad
4. Click Advanced Gesture Configuration
5. Customize your three-finger left gesture to control-shift-X
6. Customize your three-finger right gesture to control-shift-Y
(feel free to customize your other gestures as needed)

Now I just swipe three fingers left, and it's midnight.
Swipe three fingers right and it's midday.
Three fingers up, it gets loud.
Three fingers down, and it's quiet.

You can set them to the shortcuts for other things in your viewer if you wish. Whatever makes things easy.

If you'd like to add even more gesture control to your system, there are a lot of trackpad/touchpad gesture control apps for Windows and Mac Systems out there.

Windows: https://www.thewindowsclub.com/add-mouse-gestures-to-windows-10
MacOS: https://folivora.ai/ (Better Touch Tool)

That way, you can simplify a really complicated keyboard "shortcut" that you can't remember with a simple function key.

I use Better Touch Tool on my Mac at work for volume control, switching between tabs in my browser, and other quick key combinations i can't remember or perform.

What kind of handy tools and shortcuts do you use to make things easier?