Apple Magic Mouse and ID

[Invitado]

I've recently purchased the lovely Apple Magic Mouse and am finding it quite difficult to use with InDesign CS4 - other ID versions would be the same I imagine. With this mouse you scroll by stroking its top surface, rather like a trackpad. This is excellent in other applications but in ID, because the pasteboard area is so large and the sensitivity of the mouse so high (even when scrolling is turned down to the minimum in its preferences), it's very easy to make your document shoot sideways off the screen. I expect Illustrator would have similar problems.

Is there a way in which the ID pasteboard can be resized or constrained? Maybe someone will come up with a prefs panel to control the new mouse's scrolling more precisely - but not yet.

Thanks for any ideas.

John Mallinson

[re_volver]

How do we bring this to Adobe's attention as a serious matter?

Fifty percent of my daily work takes place in InDesign, and I feel like a carpenter that's been given the daunting task of building a house... but had his hammer and measuring tape taken away.

[BobLevine]

https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

Bob

[REXprints]

Thanks, Bob. I did submit a Bug Report.

[re_volver]

Does anyone know if this problem persists in CS6...?

[Kurrykid-jzpfVq]

Unfortunately, yes!

[REXprints]

I pretty much give up on having any power over this (since CS monopolizes my profession) serious issue of not being able to control my tools. It's been years and many versions later (I noticed this in CS3, still have it in CS6).

  So I have a sort of meta-thread meta-question:

How is it there are only 50 some posts on this killer topic?

Should we assume we've got some rare and incompatible driver in our systems (which have been upgraded a few times too)?

Well, that's two questions. But how could such a big problem have escaped Adobe's regression testing, even for a few users. It's clearly Adobe's problem, since it nobody's complaining about it occuring in other applications.

[Dougefresh091]

It's probably the usual case of one company blaming the other. That or they don't care since there isn't more people complaining about it.

I personally have purchased a Logitech mouse as I prefer ergonomics over Apples fancy shenanigans. But when I was using the magic mouse third party software fixed the issues.

[re_volver]

Hi Dougefresh091,

Specifically, which third party software did you use, and on which OS?

I've consistently had this problem with all versions of ID after CS3, regardless of the hardware or OS. At my day job, we're equipped with the mighty mouse on our workstations. At home, I have the Magic mouse (and I'm really happy with it). Faced with the uncontrollable scrolling in both scenarios, I desperately need to find a fix for both situations where I can keep the 360º scrolling option.

[Kurrykid-jzpfVq]

I love the Magic Mouse as well. InDesign is the only program in which I have problems using it.

[REXprints]

This is making me crazy. Why only InDesign? I have an uncreative suite of problems. In fact, I'm going to be specifying a refresh of my studio classroom at my college and I've got to consider choosing a couple dozen pointing devices. Teaching beginning graphics is hard enough with the bloated and obscure interface of CS6, now the students won't even be able to control the pointer. Well, at least it won't be the biggest problem any more. I will definitely keep CS1 installed (with no cryptic symbols and the palettes don't play hide-and-seek.)

[REXprints]

I've tested BTT and MagicPref's over the years and found they only work by rendering the MagicMouse as lame as a button-less wired mouse, which has been a survivor in the college lab I teach in. A not-MagicMouse isn't a solution, it's a downgrade.

[re_volver]

Thanks Dougefresh091,

This is really alarming that there's nothing out there to fix the issue and still maintain 360º scrolling....  and I'm still faced with solving the problem for the mighty mouse, equipped on our six production workstations.

rexprints,

I've really only glimpsed the CS6 interface so far, but "bloated and obscure" is probably the most eloquent description I've heard, and I don't think things are getting better. Improving an application and adding features is one thing, but changing tool icons and the names of commands? Why does Adobe do this? The worst example is Acrobat where version 8 had under Advanced, "enable user rights in Adobe Reader"... in Acrobat X this was moved to the File > Save menu and changed to "Reader Extended PDF".

It's kind of sad that when a new version of an application is released, one has to go online and hunt down tutorials to find tools and execute tasks that we were already familiar with.

Anyway, off-topic for this discussion, but thank you for listening.......

[REXprints]

We are wandering into the weeds here, but I've got to add the Acrobat Pro/Reader Typewriter function, a huge if poorly implemented function which also got shuffled.

--

Rex Heftmann, graphics consultant

REXprints, creating identity and understanding

www.rexprints.com

858-270-4580

[Dougefresh091]

Oh boy, don't get me started on Acrobat X. Ha! The one and only improvemnt I've personally found is that the OCR works faster. Which is great, only the rest of the program is slower on my computer. And the menu... ugh. But, I mostly just use it for forms, so I'm looking forward to getting ID CS6.

I don't mind the interface on the other programs, but I do wish certain functionality was more consistent. For example the gradient tool between PS, AI, and ID is all over the place. Things like this are annoying because I often find myself using a specific program just because I like the way the tool in question works.

These inconsistencies are as curious as the fact that certain hardware—like the Magic Mouse—aren't really supported. I just don't get it, Adobe. Or is it Apple that's at fault? We'll probably never know.

[REXprints]

Back on topic, I'm pretty sure it's Adobe, not Apple. MagicMouse doesn't play tricks in other app's.

FYI: I'll be testing the Apple Trackpad later this week, which we are especially interested in for special needs students (multiple sclerosis, spinal injury, left/right hand mixed dominance, etc.). News when it happens.

--

Rex Heftmann, graphics consultant

REXprints, creating identity and understanding

www.rexprints.com

858-270-4580

[heavyboots]

With regards to the interface bloat and general downward spiral of Adobe products, I'd say it all started about the time they decided to abandon native platform GUI and forge their own. Much like the decision to create their own installers, it has been less than a resounding success.

Still can't get over the fact they think it's acceptable, for example, to force the cmd key+scrollwheel to be horizontal scrolling for the Mac—when shift key+scrollwheel was already natively supported for multiple versions prior to that. So essentially rather than just add it to the Windows side as a feature, they forced an unnatural unification for both sides, destroying some usability for Mac users in the process.

[BobLevine]

Downward spiral is a matter of opinion. I don’t happen to share it…not even close.

Bob

[heavyboots]

Glad to hear the new esthetic works for you, Bob. Not the case for me so much, I'm afraid.

I guess I'm just saying that if I'd wanted a dark gray interface and an application "frame" for all my apps, I would have chosen a different OS to start with. The fact that the interface is now almost *black* and the options for tweaking it only show shades of gray is frustrating to me. Along with panels, which don't work as well as the dockable tabs they used to have up until CS3. I'm not saying there hasn't been some positive forward progress too—I quite like the ability to call any command from the Quick Apply palette, for example. Just that in general, they've ben dragging the interface in a direction that is frustrating to me as a Mac user.

[BobLevine]

I get that and you’re entitled to your opinion, but you’ll do a lot better letting Adobe know through official channels.

https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

If you want your feature request to get more attention you should make it as detailed as possible and include reasons why it would be beneficial.

Bob

[REXprints]

I'm taking full responsibility for this discussion drifting off into a general kvetch-fest.

Now how about what we are all here for?

"Adobe Meets MagicMouse"

--

Rex Heftmann, graphics consultant

REXprints, creating identity and understanding

www.rexprints.com

858-270-4580

[heavyboots]

Apologies, Rex.

[REXprints]

I am ever gracious in accepting apologies, but I'm pretty sure you meant to reply to Bob Levine. He could probably use a nice apology now and then.

As to CS6 and other trackpads, after exhaustive testing (about two minutes was all I could take) I've determined that InDesign is as jerky as it was on CS3 with the MagicMouse, half as jerky with Magic Trackpad, and only mildly annoyingly jerky on my Air trackpad. Now add in the inconsistent gesture issue, it's blunderful, not magical. Along with crossed up keyboard shortcuts, it's very hard to guess which gesture will do what.

I teach in a college lab where, in the preparing students for the wild, we train on every imaginable pointer and operating systems from OS10.3 up, so my demo's are a joke… on me, not Adobe or Apple. Mouse and trackballs are, as always, fine. CS1 with a no-button mouse has the immediacy of driving a 1959 Porsche Speedster, not that I've ever had the pleasure.

[Kurrykid-jzpfVq]

Just as an FYI, I have found the new version of Adobe Captivate (v6) is just as bad with the Magic Mouse

[smashkirk]

Since the issue is not being addressed in CS6, and people have been complaining about this since 2009, I don't think it's going anywhere. I just bought the magic mouse the other day, I'm going to return it and get a good 'ol $14 logitec.

[flaming1]

A lot of it is to do with how people hold/touch/use the mouse. As I said in another recent forum post around this issue...

While the Magic Mouse seems to have been the issue for some people here, for a lot of people it works just fine. I've been using the Magic Mouse with Indesign since it was first released - and still using it now with both Indesign CS5 and CS6.

It's definitely a personal preference - and there's nothing wrong with that - it is a big issue for some people and not at all for others. Of the seven Indesign users in my immediate vicinity, five are happily using the Magic Mouse with Indesign all day every day, the other two are not.

There's nothing wrong with some people not liking it, but it's not accurate to say the Mouse is the whole problem.