Isn’t it something like the right handers are always at an unfair advantage over the left handers?? It has been observed that almost all the gadgets and PC peripherals are designed to suit a right hander. All the new gadgets, including the most commonly used peripheral devices like keyboard and mouse, are designed to suit right handers. This post is all about bettering the Windows’ experience for the left handers. Learn how to tweak windows to suit you better( if you are a left hander).

Tweak Windows:

Configuring the mouse to suit left handers is just like a child’s play. Follow the under given steps to configure your mouse:

1. Open Control Panel.

2. Search for the option labeled Mouse and double click to view its properties. A window like given below appears.

3. Check the option that says “Switch primary and secondary buttons” and click OK. Now your mouse has been configured to be used easily by a left hander.

Another thing that makes a left hander feel awkward is the mouse pointer that is angled to the left. To fix this problem, visit Tocows. Here you’ll find softwares that make available mouse pointers angled to the right. Download the setup, install it and select the new pointers from the mouse control panel we used earlier. But this time under the pointers tab.

What if I share my PC with a right hander?

In certain situations a PC can be a shared one, that is used by both the right handers and left handers. In such cases opening the control panel every time for mouse switching can be annoying. Downloading a software can make swapping possible just a keystroke away.

After installing this software you’ll be able to swap the mouse buttons and pointer angles by using the Ctrl + F12 key combination.

What if I want another way to sort out the problem?

Another way to to make things run smoothly is to attach two mice to the PC( one for the left hander and another for the right hander). Be sure that one mouse is a regular PS/2 type that plugs into back of the PC and another is the USB mouse. Also you can use an ambidextrous mouse which can be used both by right handed and left handed people. Have a look at ‘em here.

Using a left handed keyboard:

To make life of a left hander happier, buying a left handed keyboard is recommended as there is no tweak in window itself to configure a default right handed keyboard to work as left handed keyboard. You need to look for left handed keyboards in the market( which are not easily available and costly too).

But don’t get heart broken. Another solution is, if you don;t want to spend a handsome amount in buying a left handed keyboard then you can go for a USB numeric keypad which is attached to normal keyboard. It’ll cost you lesser than a left handed keyboard. Have a look at it here.

Can I get the advantage of using two keyboards at the same time ?

Just like mice, you can attach two keyboards simultaneously to the PC(in case your PC is shared one ). In order to connect two keyboards to a PC you’ll need a switch box, that lets you switch between the keyboards.

Tweaking MS Word 2003:

Keyboard shortcuts in MS Word 2003 can be fully customized. Follow these steps to do so:

• Open MS Word 2003–>Tools Menu–>Commands Tab–>Keyboard Button( at the bottom of the dialogue box). This will open Customize Keyboard dialogue box.
• To change the default Paste(Ctrl + V) shortcut, select Edit in the Categories Box, then scroll down to the Edit Paste option in the Commands Box. The current shortcut will be displayed in the Current Keys box. To change it, click in the Press New Shortcut Key box, type in the shortcut key you want, and click on Assign.