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Last spring, I did a workshop on using Overlay Maker to create custom overlays for the IntelliKeys keyboard. During the workshop someone asked if IntelliKeys could be set up to 'point & click' at things on screen, somewhat like a TouchWindow. In my finite wisdom, I said 'No...that's about the only thing you can't program the IntelliKeys to do.' Since that workshop, I've received a Beta copy of ClickIt! by IntelliTools, and I've got to tell you, 'Boy was I wrong!' ClickIt! is a powerful, easy to use program that allows you to mark locations on the screen called HotSpots and assign keystroke equivalents to move the mouse to that point and 'click.'
For example, in the program PlayRoom, there is a mouse at
the window. When you move the cursor to the mouse and click,
he falls with lots of noise and action. Using IntelliKeys
with a mouse keys overlay (when a key is pressed the cursor
moves in the direction of the arrows) I could move the
cursor to the mouse in the window and hit a 'mouse click'
button. That, however, is a lot to ask of some of our kids.
With ClickIt!, though, while in PlayRoom I can assign a
keystroke equivalent to do the same thing as simply as:
1. Typing Control-Space to activate ClickIt!,
2. Moving the cursor to where I want it, on top of the
mouse, and
3. Holding down the Control key and clicking the mouse.
ClickIt! automatically assigns a keystroke equivalent (i.e.
Shift-Control-A).
From that point on, when I type Shift-Control-A the cursor moves to the mouse and clicks. Now, I realize typing Shift-Control-A isn't all that easy, but with Overlay Maker, all those keystrokes can be done at once by pressing a key. I can even put a picture of the mouse from PlayRoom on it so we remember what the key is for. By combining ClickIt! with Overlay Maker you can effectively use IntelliKeys to point and click without a mouse.
There are some companies that defy description and are just 'too cool for words.' IntelliTools is one of those companies. It wasn't enough to develop the incredibly versatile IntelliKeys keyboard, they made Overlay Maker so you can create custom overlays in a matter of minutes. They're pushing the envelope of user control and customization even more with ClickIt!. Now any teacher, any where can sit down and in an hour or so, create a keyboard set up unique to his / her students needs and use that set up on practically any computer. When that idea really settles in, watch for an explosion of teacher designed layouts that will revolutionize how computers are being used in education.
ClickIt! will be available this fall from IntelliTools 800/899-6687. The special introductory price is $69.95. After October 1, 1994, ClickIt! will be $99.95.
Some of the cool things you can do with ClickIt!:
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