Section: New Results

Impact of the localization and activation of mode switchers

Input devices have a limited number of buttons and degrees of freedom, but they are used to control many functionnalities. Modes and quasi-modes makes it possible to map several actions to the same input. For example keys of a keyboard either input a letter or trigger a command. Delimiters allow users to switch between the modes. On the keyboard, the default mode is often text entry and pressing the Ctrl key switches the mode to command mode. This choice was made at a time when the mouse was not widespread. In [33] , we explored the possibility to place mode switchers on the mouse and experimented the benefits. We showed that there is a performance benefit if the current tasks are essentially mouse-based. In particular we showed that using mode switchers on the mouse reduces homing the dominant hand between the mouse and the keyboard.