StrokesPlus Portable (64-bit)

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET staff on August 14, 2012

Mouse gestures can automate tedious tasks. With the click of a button and a flick of the wrist, you can fill in your shipping address, insert a long string of text you have to type over and over again, display the weather, or launch any program. StrokesPlus is a free mouse gestures application that's easy to configure and use but also highly flexible. It's available in separate downloads for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the Windows operating system. It's also available in fully portable versions of each. While most users will probably benefit from the fully installed version, some require a portable application, which runs when you launch it without having to be installed or written to the registry. The fully portable version can run from a USB drive or similar device. You can run multiple instances of StrokesPlus simultaneously, too. Full portability lets you use your programmed mouse gestures at work or on an unfamiliar PC. We tried StrokesPlus Portable (64-bit) in 64-bit Windows Home Premium.

The program's installer displayed a message describing recent updates and changes to StrokesPlus, some of which may affect how you use the program. It's no longer necessary to run StrokesPlus with administrator privileges, but some users may still want to. For the portable app, that simply means right-clicking its executable file and selecting Run as Administrator. We recently tried the installed version of StrokesPlus, and the portable version is basically identical in function. The program's system tray icon serves as its central control point, with an extensive menu of actions, settings, and modes, including a helpful Training Mode and an extensive manual that also offers lots of training and tips, including screenshots. But the manual also has an extensive selection of scripts, including a built-in global Lua file and tons of variables. Clearly, StrokesPlus is no mere mouse flicks tool, and it's capable of automating just about anything you want, if you have some skills.

But beginners will find StrokesPlus easy to get started with, too. The manual walks new users through every step. Whether you try the portable or installed version, StrokesPlus has something for all users.

Publisher's Description

From StrokesPlus:

StrokesPlus Portable (64-bit) is a mouse gesture recognition program that allows you to automate repetitive tasks by simply drawing a gesture with your mouse or performing mouse and/or keyboard modifiers to fire off an action sequence. Whether the action sequence you're wanting to fire uses a gesture, mouse or keyboard modifier(s), or both, you begin with pressing the selected Stroke button on your mouse. By default, the Stroke button is assigned to the right mouse button. To begin, press and hold the Stroke button and either draw the gesture or perform the mouse or keyboard modifier(s), then release the Stroke button. If the events are recognized as being tied to an action sequence, StrokesPlus will fire the action sequence.

What's new in this version: Version 2.7.1 added acDisableCapture() & acEnableCapture() and updated mouse hook to have more checks for Training Mode, to prevent unexpected errors/crash.