[Closed] Why does my new mouse have a shortcut button to the Windows menu?

It'll be configurable, with the Windows button as a typical suggestion.

If you have a spare button, my favourite thing to bind it to is ctrl-click which opens links in a new tab (in most browsers).

Or just click on the scroll wheel... (usually)

As Molly says, change it to a shortcut of your choice.

Or don't use it and continue to move your mouse an inch to the left!

I had a Microsoft mouse which had handy extra buttons on the side that were set up to be shortcuts for Forward and Back in the browser.

Not a bad idea as such, but they were very light touch and far too easy to click accidentally which was frustrating, especially when playing a little in-browser game.

I re-configured them (with some super glue). 😀

I had a Microsoft mouse which had handy extra buttons on the side that were set up to be shortcuts for Forward and Back in the browser.

my logitech one allows you to flick the scroll wheel left/right to move forward/back. its great.

my magic mouse you just have to swipe left/right to move forward/back. its better.

People click the windows button? Have you lot not got keyboards (and left hands)?

I've got a turbo button on my mouse :smug:

(and I've only just realised forwards and back buttons) :slightlylesssmugnow:

Ooh just discovered that a flick of my mouse scroll wheel right/left does page up / page down. 😀

my magic mouse you just have to swipe left/right to move forward/back. its better.

I'd imagine the real answer is: Because Windows 8

Which is going to be moot in August anyway when they put the start menu back into 8.2.

It's for PC gamers and the athletes they are, they need to have quick access to shortcuts due to their cat like reflexes.

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that and sometimes we all use things differently (for example the poor left handers who's left hand is holding the mouse not hovering over the windows key.) Even as a right hander sometimes having a right side windows key would be useful so chucking it on the mouse I'm already holding would be a good thing. But mostly re assigning the button into something that throws virtual rocks from my home office to other offices would do [small rant dropped into random thread]

or example the poor left handers who's left hand is holding the mouse not hovering over the windows key.

Most left handers I know, me included, use the mouse with the right hand - leaves the left free for writing and typing. I'm not sure why right handers use the mouse on the wrong side tbh, guess they're just physically less able.

Even as a right hander sometimes having a right side windows key would be useful

I must just have met the other ones then, I think most started to convert after mice got all touchy feely and shaped (all the extra buttons on mine are either thumb operated with my RH and little finger with my LH) the rest are hoarding whatever basic 2 button mice that are left 🙂

As a race are we getting too lazy to move a mouse an inch to the left?

yesterday I saw a couple in a car drive down a cycle route\pavement to put a letter into a letter box. They went a good distance along it too to get on and off at drop kerbs. All to save stopping at the side of the road opening the door and walking 3 meters and back and shutting the door 👿

Most left handers I know, me included, use the mouse with the right hand - leaves the left free for writing and typing. I'm not sure why right handers use the mouse on the wrong side tbh, guess they're just physically less able.

I fit into that category, though it's learned behaviour. First mouse I used plugged into the side of an Atari ST and the cable wouldn't reach to the other side of the machine so I'd no choice but to learn wrong-handed. In hindsight I'm glad I did, I like having my dominant hand available for my primary input method.

As a race are we getting too lazy to move a mouse an inch to the left?

Some are just inept. Regularly I ask people to log in, and watch whilst they pick up the mouse, click the username box, type their name, pick up the mouse again and click the password box, type their password then pick up the mouse a third time to click OK, whilst I'm standing there quietly growing a beard to myself.

whilst I'm standing there quietly growing a beard to myself.

Tick.

whilst inside silently screaming tab, tab, TAB! TAB! there's a ****ing tab key right there!

Up there with watching a user copy text using a mouse to select it, then open the edit menu and click on copy, click where you want to paste, open the edit menu, click on paste. CTRL-C / CTRL-V YOU IDIOT!

Quite.

I'm always torn with stuff like that. Part of me thinks "well, it's not their fault, if no-one's ever shown them" and part of me thinks "it's part of your frelling job to know how to do this." And I just know that if I were to tell them, nine times out ten they'd treat it as a slight and be insulted.

You'd take driving lessons before taking a job as a taxi driver, right?

And I just know that if I were to tell them, nine times out ten they'd treat it as a slight and be insulted.

Its actually for Windows 8 more than XP or 7 and drops you to the 'Modern Interface' or the tiles bit of Windows 8.

Now 8.1 allows much more user configuration of this screen (can act like a quick launch panel) it is actually quite useful to have on the mouse as you can very quickly swap between apps - surprisingly more so than clicking the button on the screen or keyboard and very useful when using a Windows 8 tablet with the mouse but no keyboard.

I don't understand why trackballs fell out of favour - a mouse is a good idea but the fact you have to wang it around on the desk and pick it up to relocate it to then use it seems like a fail, I'd rather just have the ball to roll with my fingers and it always be in the same ergonomical place like the keyboard is

keyboard shortcuts wind me right up as well - windows+L to lock the workstation when you walk away from your desk ! easiest thing in the world... gah

windows-L was a handy one in W7
hitting ctrl-alt-del then enter also works *BUT* W7 is so cack that it highlights the option that happens to be where the mouse ended up. enter does [u]not[/u] execute that highlighted option, but executes the first option (lock), which does actually have a very very very feint box around it (at least on this swirly nauseous menu backdrop)
so that's another case where the mouse brigade who think they're using quicker, simpler input, actually go out of their way to perform more actions. And in that instance, imho, it is 100% M$'s fault, not the one-fingered inputters'.

you have to wang it around on the desk and pick it up to relocate it to then use it seems like a fail

If you have to pick up your mouse because you've run out of desk space then yes that's a fail.

You probably want to tweak the sensitivity and/or acceleration up a bit!