chalk tip #23: viewing slides using a mouse

Today’s tip is a little different; I want to talk about viewing slides using a mouse.  People often say that a mouse is the wrong tool for navigating through a digital slide.  This leads to discussions about alterative hardware devices for navigation such as joysticks, trackballs, tablets, touchscreens, etc., or more exotic devices such as 3D mice.

It might be that using a joystick, trackball, tablet, touchscreen, etc. would be better for certain users, and Aperio’s ImageScope and WebScope viewing tools support all of these as “mouse replacements” pretty seamlessly.  You can buy a third-party navigation device, plug it in, and poof! you can navigate through digital slides with it.  ImageScope and WebScope leverage the common support for navigation devices provided by Windows and web browsers.

However… when people say a mouse is the wrong tool for navigating through a slide, what they really mean is that dragging the image is the wrong way to navigate through a slide.  And this is undoubtedly true!  Imagine trying to view a whole digital slide that way; click drag release move-back, click drag release move-back, click drag release move-back.  My wrist hurts just typing those words!

Fortunately ImageScope provides many better ways to navigate, some of which were the subjects of previous Chalk Tips:

Mouse

• Move the mouse to an edge of the image; it will turn into an arrow, then click down to scroll the image.

• Drag the mouse over the thumbnail to move the current view.

• Use Autopan: your mouse becomes a joystick for panning around within an image.  (chalk tip #16: ImageScope joystick mode).

• Click the Tracker’s “Next Un-viewed Region” button to show the entire slide, view-by-view.  (chalk tip #20: systematically viewing all of a slide).

Keyboard

• Use the Arrow keys to scroll the image.

• Hold down the Shift key while typing Arrows to move the image exactly one field.  (chalk tip #2: fast panning field by field).
  
  (the combination of Arrow keys with Shift-Arrows is incredibly efficient, and does not require a mouse.  Try it!)

• Hit the Space Bar as a shortcut for the Tracker’s “Next Un-viewed Region” button.  (chalk tip #20: systematically viewing all of a slide).

Each of these ways can be combined with the Tracker so you can see where you’ve been.  (chalk tip #19: tracking where you've been while viewing).

WebScope also provides better ways to navigate:

Mouse

• Click the Arrow icons in the Toolbar to scroll the image.

• Drag the mouse over the thumbnail to move the current view.

Keyboard

• Use the Arrow keys to scroll the image.

• Hold down the Shift key while typing Arrows to move the image exactly one field.
  
  (the combination of Arrow keys with Shift-Arrows is incredibly efficient, and does not require a mouse.)

People always start by dragging the image for navigating; it is a natural thing to do (and it does work).  But one or more of the techniques listed above are much more efficient for navigating.  Please try them yourself!  (Oh, and next time you hear someone comment that a mouse is the wrong tool for navigating through a slide, please suggest they try some of these other ways to navigate!)

PS as always please feel free to comment with your questions and suggestions.