Pointer trails

Chris Maunder

My mouse settings are playing up so I was in the mouse control panel fiddling with things and noticed the "Display pointer trails" checkbox. Does anyone here remember when laptop screens were so bad you actually needed pointer trails so you could follow where the mouse was? What a blast from the past.

cheers Chris Maunder

Lost User

I have Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key enabled. I have multiple monitors and not the greatest vision. Helps me find the cursor but I do get grief from the younger devs.

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Lost User

Ditto; both ctrl-locate and trailing cursors enabled :thumbsup:

Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^][](X-Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett)

Lost User

There was no such time. But there was a time when laptop screens were so bad that they gave you pointer trails even if you didn't want them, especially when it was a little cold.

Joan M

Using three 1920x1080 monitors... sometimes I find myself moving the mouse desperately to try to see it... :rolleyes: Your method is waaaaay better... :laugh:

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Dan Neely

Is remembering when a different popular tech site got a torrent of hatoraid[^] for implementing cursor trails as part of an ad close enough? :laugh: Less snarkily, like Ferd I use the Show on Ctrl feature. It really helps at 4960x1600;[^] especially early in the morning.

Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason? Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful? --Zachris Topelius Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies. -- Sarah Hoyt

OriginalGriff

I also use Pointer Location. I try to blame multi monitors, but it's probably my age... :sigh:

Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

Jorgen Andersson

First laptop I ever played around with was a Compaq 386 with a monochrome amber display. There was always a trail. Quite fitting as it was built like a tank.

Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello

Nagy Vilmos

Ditto, though there are times I hit CTRL and then wonder why the screen went 'wobbly'...

veni bibi saltavi

OriginalGriff

That'll be the Alzheimer's... :sigh:

Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

Nagy Vilmos

Is that a new brand of Gin I haven't heard of?

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MacSpudster

I I I I i Very Much Very Much Very Much Very Much very much Remember Remember Remember Remember remember Pointer Trails Pointer Trails Pointer Trails Pointer Trails pointer trails . . . . .

OriginalGriff

You've forgotten already?

Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

Nagy Vilmos

:sigh: Tonight's late posting is brought to you by 13yo not doing her history project over the two week half-term and realising it's due in in the morning. I am giving her help as needed whilst [a] reading and [b] quality checking a rather cheeky Hungarian red. Chin! Chin!

veni bibi saltavi

OriginalGriff

Ah. A natural QA questioner, then...:laugh:

Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

den2k88

Yes I do. My eyes do. Luckily my laptop showed the trail on its own - it had a mangled refresh rate ;P

GCS d--- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L- E-- W++ N++ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t++ 5? X R++ tv-- b+ DI+++ D++ G e++>+++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP. -- TNCaver "When you have eliminated the JavaScript, whatever remains must be an empty page." -- Mike Hankey

MarkTJohnson

Nice to know that teenagers are the same all over the world.

dandy72

It's a necessity when you have two 1920x1200 monitors and a 40" 4K one. Even with that, I still sometimes lose the pointer. I'm beginning to think it's time Microsoft allowed larger mouse pointers (64x64 or even 128x128)

fglenn

I'm so old that I remember when there was no mouse, only a CLI. Having said that, I can still have locating the cursor when the focus is on a VM window displaying the console of the VM. The cursor is not to be found by any method until you switch the focus away from the VM window.

Fletcher Glenn

obermd

The next time one of your younger devs is away from their system, change the mouse pointer to "hide" when not in use. The CTRL allows you to find it again quickly.