How do I disable this?

[Tom]

The last few days a new "friend" has appeared on my screen. It's a small image (see attached) that is a circle with a pair of up/down arrows inside, and appears to act as a remote scroll button. i.e. I don't need to have my cursor on the image for it to cause my screen to scroll. I can get it to disappear temporarily by clicking outside the image, but it soon returns.

I have no idea where it came from or how to get rid of the darned thing. But it's definitely a PITA because it causes a scroll when I don't need it and occasionally, when I click to hide it, I inadvertently click something I didn't intend to click.

Any suggestions?

TIA

 

[Ron]

I have a Logitech wireless trackball.  Pressing the wheel between the two buttons will activate that icon that indicates scroll is on and when the ball is moved either forward the screen will scroll accordingly.  Pressing the wheel again will deactivate it.  I use it frequently but then I can activate or deactivate this feature as desired.

 

[Tom]

Go to the head of the class Ron. I've had this Logitech trackball and had no idea that feature existed or that I could even press the scroll wheel.

Thanks a bundle.

 

[Ron]

Glad to help.  Now you might just find this feature useful now that you got full control.

 

[Tom]

you might just find this feature useful now that you got full control.

LOL Ron, I thought I had full control before, but had little or no control since my little friend appeared.

 

[Ned]

I also have a Logitech mouse and since I never used that feature, I reprogrammed the wheel click to be a double click.

 

[Shayne]

Gents  come  on,  you are the pros with computers and all the gadjets.  Even I know what it's for, and I'm a dummy at this stuff.

 

[Just Lou]

I'm just too slow on the up take here.  I knew immediately what Tom's problem was but couldn't respond fast enough.
I recently got a new laptop with the "third" mouse button and that's what it does.  Drove me NUTS 'till I stumbled on the fix.
lol, lou

 

[Tom]

Even I know what it's for, and I'm a dummy at this stuff.

LOL Shayne, then I must be a real dummy

 

[Tom]

I reprogrammed the wheel click to be a double click.

How do I do that Ned?

 

[Ned]

Check the mouse properties from the Control Panel.  There should be a Buttons tab where you can program all of the buttons on the mouse or trackball.

 

[Tom]

Check the mouse properties from the Control Pane

HFWPOH  :-[  can't recall the last time I changed one of those settings.

There should be a Buttons tab where you can program all of the buttons on the mouse or trackball.

But not that button 

 

[Ned]

I have 8 buttons on my mouse and all of them are programmable on that tab.  Are you sure it shows the right model number?

 

[John From Detroit]

That circle with arrows is activated or deactivated by pressing the CENTER mouse button

If you have a 2 button mouse with a scroll wheel.... It is usually the wheel (press down)

If you have a 2 button mouse without a scrool wheel  Press both buttons at the same time (Logitec mice drivers often work this way)

If you have a 3 button mouse... center button

 

[Tom]

As Ned suggests, it has 8 buttons. The two hardware items I see under the Mouse properties|Hardware tab are:

• P/S compatible mouse.
• HID-compliant mouse.

Because this thing seemed to have a mind of its own, I started wondering if the comms between the trackball and the RF dongle was being compromised by low batteries, so I changed them. Shortly after that, I crashed for the night, but first shut down the PC (something I rarely do). My friend hasn't yet appeared this morning, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, the hardware items under Mouse properties|Hardware are unchanged.

 

[Ned]

That's the problem, it isn't seeing the Logictech device.  I would uninstall the trackball from the device manager and reinstall so it picks it up as the correct device.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Ned.

Meanwhile, what does "HID-compliant" mean in that tab?

 

[Ned]

Human Interface Device, a geeky word for things like mice and keyboards.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_interface_device for more.  Compliant means it is in compliance with the HID driver specification for USB devices.  See http://www.usb.org/developers/hidpage/ for details.

 

[Tom]

Another HFWPOH, thanks. I see Microsoft takes credit for coining the term HID. Many moons ago, long before these geeky terms and probably before Bill Gates knew what a computer was, I recall writing a college paper on human interfaces. I aced it, but if only I'd included the word "device" 

 

[Ned]

Tom, you could have been famous ? If you'd trademarked the term you could sue MS.? Perhaps you should see an attorney, you may be able to show prior art