How to prevent mouse cursor from entering the second display?

benyig · 2017-02-27 10:49:53

Hello,

I'm preparing for a presentation where I will send a video from my laptop to a projector via VGA cable (that's the only common port between the two devices). It's crucial that nothing but the video appears on the external display during the presentation. Is there a way to prevent the mouse cursor from entering the second display by accident?

Thanks!

ToZ · 2017-02-27 12:03:29

Hello and welcome.

There used to be a program called "mouse jail" that did this. There is this gentoo wiki article that talks about it and this page has a still-working link to the source. You might want to give that a try to see if it still works.

Otherwise, you could write a script using xdotool to pre-define a containment area for the mouse and constantly monitor the mouse position and if it moves out of the containment area, automatically move it back to a location inside the containment area. Something like:

#!/bin/bash

# the location to move the mouse to when its outside of the containment area
MOVETO_X_LOC=100
MOVETO_Y_LOC=100

# the dimensions of the containment area that you want the mouse cursor to stay inside of
#     (must be within the containment area)
TOP_X=100
TOP_Y=100
BOT_X=300
BOT_Y=300

# the check and move routine
while true
do
  CURR_MOUSE_X=$(xdotool getmouselocation | awk '{print $1}' | awk -F':' '{print $2}')
  CURR_MOUSE_Y=$(xdotool getmouselocation | awk '{print $2}' | awk -F':' '{print $2}')
  
  if [ $CURR_MOUSE_X -lt $TOP_X ] || [ $CURR_MOUSE_X -gt $BOT_X ] || [ $CURR_MOUSE_Y -lt $TOP_Y ] || [ $CURR_MOUSE_Y -gt $BOT_Y ]
  then
     xdotool mousemove $MOVETO_X_LOC $MOVETO_Y_LOC
  fi
  
  sleep 0.5
done

benyig · 2017-02-27 16:21:05

Thank you, I'll give it a try.

MountainDewManiac · 2017-02-28 20:47:40

VLC hides the mouse cursor (when you are not moving it) and has a full-screen mode. I used to use it to view videos on a (CRT) television via S-video cable and do not recall being troubled by any mouse-like distractions.

Regards,
MDM

Xfce Forum

Sub domains

#1 2017-02-27 10:49:53

How to prevent mouse cursor from entering the second display?

#2 2017-02-27 12:03:29

Re: How to prevent mouse cursor from entering the second display?

#3 2017-02-27 16:21:05

Re: How to prevent mouse cursor from entering the second display?

#4 2017-02-28 20:47:40

Re: How to prevent mouse cursor from entering the second display?

Board footer