Right Mouse Click in Windows on an Intel Macintosh - Here's How
So I'm very excited about the Intel Macintoshes, such as the MacBook Pro, the forthcoming MacBook (which actually may be called the iBook again), the iMac, and the Mac Mini. I'm very fond of my PowerPC-based Mac, and I love OS X, and frankly, I would love to have a single computer that I could run OS X on for everyday surfing, writing, and emailing, but then reboot to run Windows XP for games and various Windows-Only applications. The only problem is that stupid freaking single-mouse button that's built into the Macintosh notebooks. (OK, there's also the problem of cost, but there are cheap Intel Macs out there - the Mini, for one - and a cheap notebook is probably on the way real soon now.)
Apple's Boot Camp has made running Windows XP on a Mac a reality, and if you use a "regular" external two-button mouse, Windows (and OS X, for that matter) will see the right mouse button for what it is, and life in Windows is fine. But what about those notebooks that just come with a single mouse button built in?
In Windows, what you'll need is some special program running in the background that can emulate a right mouse button click when you press some key on the keyboard. One program that does this, and a lot more, is AutoHotkey, and it is totally free, being Open Source software. And right here I'll tell you how to do it.
Download and install AutoHotkey. Then open the Start menu, and run the program (it lives in the AutoHotkey group.) The AutoHotkey icon, an "H" on a green box, appears in the Taskbar Tray, (the area next to the clock in the lower right corner of the screen.) Double-click it, and a new window opens. Pull down the File menu from this new window, and choose Edit Script. Notepad opens, with the scripts that reprogram keys.
Scroll down to the bottom of the file, and add the following line:
RWin::RButton
This will map the right Command key (the key with the Shamrock and Apple logo on it to the right of the spacebar) to the right mouse button. Want to use another key? Read the AutoHotkey Help file.
Then save the file (File menu, then Save). The close Notepad. Then pull down the File menu from the AutoHotkey window again, and choose Reload Script. Then try using the right Command key. It should now work like a right mouse button. Voila!
If you want Windows to always remember this mapping, then copy the AutoHotkey icon from the AutoHotkey menu in the Start menu to the Startup menu. Icons in the Startup menu start automatically with Windows.
