Windows 95's mouse emulation software, MouseKeys, transforms the numeric keyboard into a virtual mouse. Mouse emulation software is indispensable when using applications for which keyboard equivalents do not exist. Greater speed and control are achievable by using MouseKeys and StickyKeys together. Notwithstanding these developments, questions remain about the viability of keyboard-only access to Windows 95. Windows is arguably the most mouse-intensive computer environment ever devised.
Function is highly concentrated in the pointing device.
Toolbars, which are not easy to access by keyboard, are now ubiquitous. Although keyboard equivalents for many mouse functions exist, the question remains as to whether they are usable in practice, without having to rely on mouse emulation software. This research was conducted between 1996 and 1998 while I provided accommodation support services to people with disabilities. Four adult students, one with dystonia, three with cerebral palsy, for whom using a standard mouse or pointing device was difficult and slow. An adult with cerebral palsy whose most reliable control site was his left foot.