Control your PC with a webcam via Camera Mouse 2015

Some Windows applications are keyboard-oriented, others built for touch, but the vast majority are still designed to be controlled by a mouse. And that’s a problem if you don’t have reliable control of a hand.

Camera Mouse is a free tool for Windows XP+ which allows users to control their mouse with head movements, instead. It’s been around for years, but developer Boston College has recently released an update with a couple of new features.

Setup is quick and easy. Launch the program, click a feature on your face -- an eye, maybe the tip of your nose -- and that’s essentially it. Move your head gently and the mouse pointer should move, too.

Hover a mouse cursor over an area and the program simulates a click. Double-clicking is almost as easy (single-click a special button and the next click counts as a double), but there’s no right-click or drag support.

A host of settings allow you to fine-tune camera control, the clicking process and other details. You could have the program automatically locate the corner of your eye, for instance, avoiding the need for that first click. Increasing the dwell time makes it less likely you’ll click something by accident, and you can set Windows to use a single-click to open an item, avoiding many double-click hassles entirely.

Camera Mouse 2015 extends this configurability a little further, with customisable function keys for various actions. It now works correctly with Windows Text Sizes of up to 200 percent, and of course the program runs under Windows 10.

The lack of right-click support is a problem, but tools like ClickAid can help with that, and overall Camera Mouse 2015 is still a great product: easy to use, but also configurable enough to suit most people’s needs. Check it out.