Re: mouse emulation with X

[Haines Brown <brownh@hartford-hwp.com>]

xpol <linux_milano@yahoo.it> writes:

> How to move the pointer across the screen, using keyobard combinations?
> I remember there were X deafult keys. Any hints?
> How to customize keys?
> 
> Thank you 
> 
> --
> Pol 

Pol,
 
I'm sorry to be so tardy in replying to your query.

Back in ca 2000 one could control the mouse pointer by issuing the
command Shft-NumLock. I found at that time that the acceleration of
the cursor movement was broken, which made the feature rather
useless. I installed xkbset, but only managed to change the value of
key acceleration in general without actually enabling the acceleration
of the cursor movement.

Your query caused me to look into the issue again. There's a xkbset
package that provides accessibility features for the X Window System
which includes MouseKeys. If you install that package and do $ xkbset
m, you get control of the cursor from the keypad (the keys 1-7 are
like a compass to provide movement direction). Acceleration now works
nicely. The command $ xkbd -m turns MouseKeys off.

The middle key (5) seems to have changed its function. I now find that
it is the equivalent of the LMB, and so if the pointer is moved over a
button, typing 5 from the keypad has the effect of clicking the left
mouse button. I don't know where the operation of MouseKeys is
documented.

-- 
 
       Haines Brown, KB1GRM