Humanscale USB Switch Mouse 

Reviewed by Phil Huffman of VocaLinks Inc. | February 23, 2022 

Tested with Windows 10. No proprietary software installed. 

The Humanscale Switch Mouse has been designed to minimize anchoring of the wrist to the work surface while moving the onscreen pointer or cursor, and it also includes features that reduce the hand motion and finger flexes required to perform several cursor-driven actions including: 

• Scrolling left or right in documents and web pages 
• Scrolling up and down 
• “Previous Page” and “Next Page” web page navigation via dedicated mouse buttons 

I was able to easily alternate the Switch Mouse between left and right-hand use by removing the plastic stabilizer flange on the bottom of the mouse and sliding it into the slots on the opposite side. This also tilts the mouse to support the wrist at a more natural angle relative to the work surface. The Windows 10 mouse settings allow swapping the function of the left and right mouse buttons.

The “hind end” of the mouse is curved to support the palm of the hand and the “front end” extends forward to accommodate different finger lengths. As a long-fingered mouser, I extended the mouse to position 6 out of 8 to position the left and right buttons under my index and 4th fingertips. My middle finger rested on the silver "Navigation Dish” centered between the buttons, and I found I could use either it or my index finger to scroll using the “dish”. 

The Navigation Dish performs two functions:  

• It acts like a joystick for up/down/left/right scrolling of the window in which the onscreen cursor is positioned, accomplished with a light press on any of the directional arrow markers on the Navigation Dish.  
• When pressed and released, the Navigation Dish activates a variable speed continuous scrolling feature that begins scrolling up or down as the cursor moves above or below the point at which the cursor was located at the time of the button press. Left and right scrolling may also be controlled this way. Moving the cursor further away from the point of origin speeds up the scrolling. When reading a long document or web page, once I found a comfortable scroll speed, I was able to let go of the mouse completely and relax my arms while keeping my visual attention on the screen. 

Used in combination with a chair with adjustable height and armrests, and a flat “mousing surface” at a suitable height relative to your computer display, the Humanscale USB Switch Mouse can help keep your arm and hand in a relaxed yet well-supported position (in keeping with your ergonomist’s advice) to reduce some of the causes of repetitive strain as you work at your computer.

Need more details? Please contact us to discuss further.