I am right-handed, and in an attempt to do something against a mild case of tennis elbow I am trying to operate my computer mouse with the left hand. Third day of that now, and it’s still very heavy, deliberate going, especially in fiddly applications like CAD.
Has anyone of you experiences to share on how long this takes to get nearly as proficient as with the right hand?
My impression is that it’s a bit easier swapping the right-click/left-click functions. What’s your experience on that?
Definitely swap the buttons to make the index finger the main clicker and the middle finger the “right” clicker. I was a TA for someone who was left handed, and her computer was set up in left-handed mode (as I described above), and it was easy to pick up quickly.
I’m right-handed, and I am most comfortable using the mouse with my left hand. My daughter uses the mouse on the left side, but I’m always switching it to the left side, because it’s more comfortable for me.
Crap.
:smack:
I meant to say:
“My daughter uses the mouse on the RIGHT side…”
I need more coffee.
I’m right handed, and for similar reasons I sometimes have to switch the mouse to the left side. I don’t think it’s necessary to swap your mouse buttons around, it’s just a matter of getting used to the different config. It does take some practice, but it really didn’t take me more than a few hours to become pretty proficient with my mouse in either hand.
I’m right handed (mostly) and have always used the mouse with my left. I started because the desk I sat my first computer on had drawers on the left. I don’t switch the buttons, I just go with it as is.
Now that I have a proper computer desk and could put the mouse right, I don’t. I’m sure I could get used to it, but there’s no point in my getting used to it–it works fine as it is. Plus, it leaves the right side of the keyboard free for a notepad to take notes on.
I switched at work after a bout of soreness. I didn’t swap the buttons. It works well that way. Support likes it that way, also. I use RH mouses (mice?) at home.
I usually just use a computer with whichever hand is nearest the mouse. The upshot of this is that, because of the way my home and business computers are set up, I can do business-type stuff easily with my right hand and home-type stuff (games, etc) easily with my left hand. When it comes down to it, switching around isn’t that difficult for me–the only thing I’m not ambidextrous in is handwriting.
I’ve never bothered switching the mouse buttons. Always seemed kinda pointless to me, although I know people who do it.
I switched a couple of years ago when my right forearm started to have a little bit of pain. I left the buttons the same. It took me a few days to totally get used to it. Now I can use either hand equally well.
I switched at the beginning of the year. I did not set up the mouse for left-handed use, I just moved it to the other side of the keyboard. So the left mouse buttons is still the left mouse button, savvy?
Anyway, I’m almost as proficient as with my right, but I don’t think I’ll ever truly be as good. It took a week or two before I was comfortable, and I guess I improved steadily since then.
I’m mostly right-handed. (I write with my right hand, but can do with my left. I tend to eat equally with either hand.) I’ve used the mouse on the left since I started using PCs. It makes it a lot easier to move the cursor around and also use the keypad, since I don’t have to let go of the mouse to punch in numbers. It’s also better for playing video games.
I did not reverse the buttons on the mouse. Left-click is left-click, and right-click is right-click. I use my left middle finger to left-click.
I am right handed and also switched to mousing left due to tennis elbow. I guess it must have been hard at first, but I can’t remember. I’ve been doing it for more than 2 years now and don’t think its any harder than right-mousing.
You might also consider a “vertically-oriented” ergomouse, which transfers motion to the bicep instread of the elbow. It kind of looks like a joystick, and is made by 3M. During the worst part of my injury, when I had it in both arms, I mixed it up with traditional-mouse on the left and ergomouse on the right.
I went from right to left-handed mousing due to overuse of my right hand. It took about 2 weeks of solid use to get used to it, but now it’s no big deal. I also switched the buttons around. For me it was less confusing to do that.
We had a physical therapist speak at work about ergonomic issues. He encouraged everyone to put the mouse on the left side because the way keyboards are built you have to reach farther to use the mouse on the right side. He claimed that using the mouse on the left would reduce the instances of rotator cuff injuries. He warned us that it would take two weeks to get used to it. I haven’t tried it yet.
I am right-handed. When the mouse first made its appearance, I was going to have to learn from scratch whichever hand I used. I chose to learn to use it with my left hand as that seemed best for combined mouse/keyboard operation. There are more keys on the right side of the keyboard that I might want to use while using a mouse - the main one being the Enter key, but also the cursor control keys and PgUp/PgDn (the mouse wheel has made these keys less useful).
I do not switch the buttons.
My mouse is on the left and I am right-handed. I switched because I wanted to be more dextrous with the reins when I ride my horse. Left-handed teethbrushing, mousing and eating were recommended. I am very clumsy with my left hand but it only took me 2 or 3 days to get used to using the mouse and now it feels awkward if I try to mouse with my right hand.
I developed hand pain from constant mousing, many years back, and tried to force myself to switch to the left hand with no luck - simply couldn’t get the hang of it.
I finally succeeded when I broke my right elbow and could not mouse right-handed. Within a week I was mousing competently with the left hand. A very successful method, if a bit drastic 
To this day I can’t mouse quite as well left-handed as right but I can do pretty well, so I tend to switch off depending on which arm is bugging me that day. I’ve never bothered to switch the mouse buttons.
I guess if you wanted to force yourself to switch, without going to the extreme I did, you could try to sling your right arm, or hook your thumb into your waistband, or otherwise restrain the hand in some way to keep yourself from using it accidentally.
I am right handed, but have used the mouse on the left for most of my career. I had very, very, little difficulty doing this. No button-swapping, just keep the mouse on the left.
This is for two reasons:
I switched after suffering some nerve damage to my right wrist. It was awkward at first but the transition was complete in a few days. I didn’t switch the buttons.
I noticed that after I switched, I started doing more things with my left hand, such as holding the steering wheel. I probably a useful exercise to switch hands once in a while.
Another righty who switched to left-handed mousing because of wrist pain, and didn’t bother switching the buttons. It took only a few days to get the hang of it.
Shortly before I switched I saw a report in New Scientist about a study claiming that people who switched to left-handed mousing, after the adjustment period, were able to finish standard computer tasks more quickly than before the switch. I haven’t done a head-to-head comparison, but having the right hand free to hit the “enter” key, type in numbers and so on does seem to speed up some tasks. And it is nice to be able to mouse and write things down without switching hands from task to task.