FreeWheel 2.4 ------------- For the latest information, see the web page at: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2060/freewheel.html What is FreeWheel? ------------------ FreeWheel provides mouse wheel support for applications which do not directly support the IntelliPoint mouse wheel. It runs on Windows 9x and Windows NT as a tray icon, which you can hide if you dislike clutter in your tray. FreeWheel supports the 'default' mode of operation, where rotating the wheel causes the active ('focus') window to scroll, and an alternative mode where the window directly underneath the mouse pointer is scrolled (this is the one I prefer). Note that only windows within the active application can be scrolled. You can switch between documents in an application by holding down Ctrl+Shift while rotating the mouse wheel, and you can switch between applications by holding down Alt and rotating the wheel. FreeWheel caters for the possibility of conflicts with applications that directly support the wheel by allowing you to specify a list of applications. FreeWheel can either include or exclude applications which appear in this list. FreeWheel is free, so there are no irritating nag screens, no timeouts, and no guilt associated with failing to register! Installing FreeWheel -------------------- Extract and run Setup.exe from the FreeWheel.zip archive to install FreeWheel to the folder of your choice. When the setup program first runs FreeWheel, a shortcut will be created in your StartUp menu so that FreeWheel will run automatically each time you start Windows. Using FreeWheel --------------- FreeWheel starts up initially with some sensible default settings. To customize the settings, double-click on its tray icon, or select 'Properties' from its context menu. You will be presented with a dialog containing several property pages. The 'General' page reports information about your Windows version and the level of mouse wheel support that your system provides. The 'Settings' page allows you to customise the way FreeWheel works. You can choose whether to scroll the focussed window or the window under the mouse pointer. You can enable alternate scrolling, where holding down Ctrl+Alt temporarily causes page scrolling if the default is line scrolling, and vice versa. You may also hide FreeWheel's tray icon. The 'Switching' page allows to enable or disable FreeWheel's window switching features. The 'Compatibility' page allows you to disable FreeWheel's scrolling support in selected applications. Alternatively you can disable FreeWheel for all applications except those that you specify. The 'About' page contains a pretty icon and some blurb. Sound Events ------------ FreeWheel supports wheel sound events. To enable them, go to the "Sounds" Control Panel and scroll down to the "FreeWheel" section. You should see two events listed: "Scroll Down" and "Scroll Up". Assign sounds to these events and scroll away! For now, you'll have to provide you own sounds. If you have some cool scrolling sounds that you would like to donate, then send them to me for inclusion in the next version of FreeWheel. Support ------- FreeWheel is not a commercial product. I develop and maintain FreeWheel in my (increasingly limited) spare time. However, if you have any bug reports or suggestions, I will be happy to hear about them. Compatibility ------------- These days, many applications directly support the mouse wheel and don't need any help from FreeWheel. You can enter these applications into FreeWheel's compatibility list and select the "Exclude" option. Alternatively, you can select the "Include" option instead, and enter wheel-challenged applications into the list. Uninstalling FreeWheel ---------------------- Launch the "Add/Remove Programs" icon from the Control Panel and select FreeWheel from the list of applications that can be removed. History ------- 28 Oct 1999, version 2.4. Fixed obscure Win98 problem for 16-bit apps with stupidly small stack sizes. 10 Oct 1999, version 2.3. Blocked IntelliPoint's Universal Scrolling. 5 Oct 1999, version 2.2. More compatibility improvements. Improved combo-box support. Extraordinary hack for Acrobat Reader. 18 Jul 1999, version 2.1. Gave up on giving apps "first crack" at the wheel message - there is no reliable way of telling whether they did anything or not. Fixed problem with excluded apps being run with short pathnames. Improved app list in the "Compatibility" tab. 22 Jan 1998, version 2.0.2. Fixed uninstall problem on NT. Added sound events. Fixed double-scrolling in excluded apps (oops!). 8 Dec 1997, version 2.0.1. Plugged hole in scrolling code which prevented scrolling in VBA and some other apps. Fixed upside-down spin control in 'Settings' page. 28 Jun 1997, version 2.0. Major enhancements in scroll code. Improved compatibility with apps, notably Word97. Added horizontal scrolling. Added combo box scrolling (Win95 only). Added Alt+Wheel app switching. Added 'hide tray icon' feature. 13 Jun 1997, version 1.2. Fixed silly bug in 'scroll window under mouse' code. 12 Jun 1997, version 1.1. Added installer/uninstaller. 9 Jun 1997, version 1.0. Proof of pudding. Trademarks ---------- Microsoft is a registered trademark, and IntelliMouse is a trademark of Microsoft. But you knew that already. License Agreement ----------------- FreeWheel is free software. That means that my liability shall not exceed the amount paid to me for use of the software. Jim Barry http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2060