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MacsGalor · Sep 27, 2003, 10:50 AM

First off I would like to thank Tomster as he was the one who I got this info from. If you want the ability to set a scroll wheel area on your trackpad and set a tap to be a right click then get Sidetrack here is the link it works great. Thanks again Tomster!

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20854

Bruck · Sep 27, 2003, 11:09 AM

we could also thank the individual who wrote the software. He posts here

Thanks Basilisk

MacsGalor · Sep 27, 2003, 11:18 AM

I did not know that, thanks!

Tomster · Sep 27, 2003, 12:52 PM

I too would like to thank Basilisk for his fantastic work. It really has been the best piece of software I have installed in quite some time. Once you try Trackpad scrolling, you wondered how you worked before without it. Basilisk was nice enough to let me know it will work with Panther. Fantastic!

KP* · Sep 27, 2003, 01:29 PM

This is a great app. My new 15" PB is my first Mac laptop. My old laptop was a Dell (shudder) and the only thing I missed was trackpad scrolling. A quick search on VersionTracker for "trackpad" solved my problem in ten minutes. Glad there are so many great developers making things work better.

trublue · Sep 27, 2003, 01:45 PM

Downled it yesterday!

It's wonderful. Thanks.

-Ian

(Especially looking forward to using it on an "oversized" 17" trackpad).

RBM · Sep 27, 2003, 02:20 PM

Absolutely brilliant on my 17".

wr11 · Sep 27, 2003, 03:51 PM

I haven't tried this yet, mainly cuase my powerbook is not here yet...

I am looking forward to it, sounds like a great little driver!

Thank you Basilisk

Basilisk · Sep 27, 2003, 06:15 PM

Thanks for the positive feedback folks, I appreciate it

Look for an updated driver with a lot of bugfixes sometime in early October.

Alex (Bas)

CobraNT · Sep 27, 2003, 06:45 PM

Slick.....Very Slick. Great job. Thanks.

Ti X · Sep 27, 2003, 10:49 PM

I love it! Works great with my 17".

MacsGalor · Sep 27, 2003, 11:29 PM

Originally posted by Basilisk:
Thanks for the positive feedback folks, I appreciate it

Look for an updated driver with a lot of bugfixes sometime in early October.

Alex (Bas)

Again thanks I love it just one question though, Once you install Sidetrack the trackpad tab in the mouse and keyboard control panel is gone, this is no big deal except there is no longer a way to change the tracking speed. Am I missing something or would I have to uninstall to change the speed?

JEB · Sep 28, 2003, 12:32 AM

Sometimes,there seems to be a pause on the trackpad . . . any note of this, anyone?

Great feature -- feels like we're now "doubly - fully featured". Just give it to Apple (but make sure they offer you a couple G5's or something)

Basilisk · Sep 28, 2003, 12:54 PM

Once you install Sidetrack the trackpad tab in the mouse and keyboard control panel is gone, this is no big deal except there is no longer a way to change the tracking speed. Am I missing something or would I have to uninstall to change the speed?

You should be able to use the "Mouse" pref pane (or the mouse tab of the "Keyboard and Mouse" pane under Panther). To adjust the tracking speed. The "Trackpad" related options/labels are gone because from the OS perspective SideTrack is a scroll wheel mouse, not a trackpad.

Sometimes,there seems to be a pause on the trackpad . . . any note of this, anyone?

From the FAQ in the next release:

Q: After installing SideTrack my cursor sometimes gets "stuck". How can this be prevented?

A: In every case reported so far "stuck" cursors are the result of users unintentionally starting mouse motions in the scroll zone area. This appears to be a "stuck" cursor because the driver is trying to scroll instead of move the mouse pointer. Most users adjust to this over time and avoid starting mouse motions in the scroll zones.

It can be helpful to change the scroll area to be smaller, the default scroll area is fairly large (so that it is obvious for first-time users). Over time as you get used to SideTrack it can be helpful to reduce the scroll area size. Most users can find a scroll zone size setting where the "stuck" cursor problem no longer occurs.

Hope this helps,

Alex (Bas)

mgehman · Sep 28, 2003, 01:04 PM

Originally posted by Basilisk:
You should be able to use the "Mouse" pref pane (or the mouse tab of the "Keyboard and Mouse" pane under Panther). To adjust the tracking speed. The "Trackpad" related options/labels are gone because from the OS perspective SideTrack is a scroll wheel mouse, not a trackpad.

From the FAQ in the next release:

Q: After installing SideTrack my cursor sometimes gets "stuck". How can this be prevented?

A: In every case reported so far "stuck" cursors are the result of users unintentionally starting mouse motions in the scroll zone area. This appears to be a "stuck" cursor because the driver is trying to scroll instead of move the mouse pointer. Most users adjust to this over time and avoid starting mouse motions in the scroll zones.

It can be helpful to change the scroll area to be smaller, the default scroll area is fairly large (so that it is obvious for first-time users). Over time as you get used to SideTrack it can be helpful to reduce the scroll area size. Most users can find a scroll zone size setting where the "stuck" cursor problem no longer occurs.

Hope this helps,

Alex (Bas)

I tried it and really liked it. However, I was unable to get it to recognize the right side of the trackpad as the scroll point. I recalibrated the pad several times to no avail. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Basilisk · Sep 28, 2003, 01:45 PM

However, I was unable to get it to recognize the right side of the trackpad as the scroll point. I recalibrated the pad several times to no avail. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Have you tried increasing the scroll area size (move slider to the right).

Also you might try resetting the calibration and starting over. Throw away /Library/Preferences/com.ragingmenace.SideTrack.plist and restart. Then recalibrate.

Note that that file is in /Library not /Users/<your username>/Library. Calibration is a systemwide preference.

Bas

mgehman · Sep 28, 2003, 02:07 PM

Originally posted by Basilisk:
Have you tried increasing the scroll area size (move slider to the right).

Also you might try resetting the calibration and starting over. Throw away /Library/Preferences/com.ragingmenace.SideTrack.plist and restart. Then recalibrate.

Note that that file is in /Library not /Users/<your username>/Library. Calibration is a systemwide preference.

Bas

Yeah tried both. When I increase the size it works intermitently but never consistent. I'd appreciate any other advise. Thanks again

mgehman · Sep 28, 2003, 02:25 PM

Originally posted by mgehman:
Yeah tried both. When I increase the size it works intermitently but never consistent. I'd appreciate any other advise. Thanks again

Fixed it. Your not going to believe this if I use my left hand to calibrate the right side it works beautifully. Go figure

Basilisk · Sep 28, 2003, 05:52 PM

Fixed it. Your not going to believe this if I use my left hand to calibrate the right side it works beautifully. Go figure

Oh I believe it... You've got to remember that the trackpad plus your finger isn't a very fine control device. Minor differences in hardware and finger angle make huge differences.

Other surprising influences I've seen reported:

- Finger size (thumb versus index finger for example)
- Hand dampness (sweaty palms are less accurate)
- Finger angle

Somewhat bizarre but true.

Alex

mrtew · Sep 28, 2003, 10:47 PM

This is fantastic! Even without the scrolling it would be a godsend. The rightclick trackpad button is pure genius and makes up for Apple's oversimplification of the whole pad. Some people will say, "I don't need this because I use a mouse most of the time with my PB", without realizing that the REASON they use a mouse most of the time is because their trackpad was born without half its functionality. Some of the people at Apple are about ten slices short of a loaf. Thanks a million to the author(s) of this priceless little driver!

adihez · Oct 3, 2003, 06:48 AM

this app is fantastic.but i dono if this got to do with sidetrack or not but after i install it my hardrive info on the desktop doesnt get updated anymore if i click on the hardrive icon.

Basilisk · Oct 3, 2003, 09:52 AM

but after i install it my hardrive info on the desktop doesnt get updated anymore if i click on the hardrive icon.

I hate to pass the buck on this, but I can't see any way this could be SideTrack's fault. SideTrack is down within the kernel and behaves just like a mouse. From the Finder's perspective (which is what renders and updates the desktop) SideTrack doesn't exist, there's just a mouse attached to the machine.

Alex (Bas)

adihez · Oct 3, 2003, 03:10 PM

yeah i thought so too.. but i reinstall and after i put sidetrack it happened again.well i dont really its a big loss if the info doesnt updates anymore.thanks.

Basilisk · Oct 3, 2003, 11:06 PM

yeah i thought so too.. but i reinstall and after i put sidetrack it happened again.well i dont really its a big loss if the info doesnt updates anymore.thanks.

What did you reinstall? Was it a clean install or an install over the old version?

Alex

scoot · Oct 4, 2003, 12:39 AM

I've become so accustomed to single-button mice, I'll need to retrain myself.

I've only had it running for a few minutes so far, but it seems to be cooking along fine.
It's even working in Panther.

crouchingtiger · Oct 4, 2003, 04:37 AM

yeah, this is fantastic!

I've turned off "right-clicking" for now, to first get used to the scrolling functionality. Then I will reintroduce the right-clicking. Otherwise, having too many new useful features was too much to handle... =)

Thanks Basilisk!

adihez · Oct 5, 2003, 07:57 AM

Originally posted by Basilisk:
What did you reinstall? Was it a clean install or an install over the old version?

Alex

i reinstalled jaguar.10.2.6

and then i installed sidetrack,restarted and then it happened again.i didnt do anything else besides that.

Basilisk · Oct 5, 2003, 10:50 PM

For those following this thread, I've just released a roll up version with many bugfixes:

http://www.ragingmenace.com/software...ack/index.html

Enjoy,

Alex (Bas)

Tomster · Oct 6, 2003, 12:05 AM

Alex,

Thanks for continuing to support and upgrade a fantastic piece of software. And thanks for letting us know about the upgrade. Wow, it was posted here before versiontracker.

For all those who thought sidetrack was cool, take a look at Menumeters written by this prolific programmer. After looking at my desktop, both Mac and PC users usually stop and ask me about MenuMeters. CPU meter lets me know if an application blows up and needs to be terminated. Bandwidth meter lets me know how fast data is coming in and out. Memory Meter lets me see if I am paging out. All in all a fantastic suite of programs all rolled into one preference pane. And it looks really cool in the menu bar.

Thanks again

mrtew · Oct 26, 2003, 12:30 AM

Has anyone tried it with Jaguar yet? I am afraid to install, but I really miss it already. Does it work?

Tomster · Oct 26, 2003, 12:54 AM

Originally posted by mrtew:
Has anyone tried it with Jaguar yet? I am afraid to install, but I really miss it already. Does it work?

Works great! Install at will.

cszar2001 · Oct 26, 2003, 03:06 AM

Basilisk: thanks for this great piece of software!!
It`s so great it should be on every PB right from the start; bombard Apple with Mails till they buy it from you!

mrtew · Oct 26, 2003, 08:16 AM

Originally posted by cszar2001:
Basilisk: thanks for this great piece of software!!
It`s so great it should be on every PB right from the start; bombard Apple with Mails till they buy it from you!

Are you kidding? Apple doesn't even have trackpad clicking on by default. Everytime I go into the Apple store I am amazed to find that I can't click and the cursor tracking is always set very slow. I'd feel like Apple computers were really retarted if I just walked in off the street without a clue.

I am soooooo glad that Sidetrack works on Panther. I'm feeling much better now. Cant believe this is from the same genius that brought us menumeters!