VS gets "confused" by non-standard mouse button settings on Windows

[Javic]

I use the mouse with my left hand and thus have my primary and secondary buttons reversed. Every now and then, VS seems to get "confused" about which is my primary button (the right) and which is secondary (the left), apparently reversing their functions from what they should be according to my Windows settings. Furthermore, when this happens it "confuses" my entire system so that my mouse button settings become reversed everywhere in Windows, not just in VS. That is, my right button (my primary) functions like the secondary (e.g., it displays context menus) while my left button (my secondary) behaves like the primary. After Alt+Tabbing between apps and clicking around a bit, the proper mouse button functions return. However, the problem always comes back eventually.

I've tried but have been unable to determine what specifically causes the problem to appear (I usually notice it when VS tooltips stop working), or what specifically I must do to make it go away, so unfortunately I can't provide any more diagnostic detail. (I'm happy to experiment if somebody has any specific suggestions.)

This issue appeared several releases ago, but I was on Windows 7 at the time so didn't pursue it. Now I'm using Windows 10 and the problem persists, including with VS 15.2.3.

(BTW the problem appears only when using VS, so it's not a system issue.)

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

Hi,

I'd be amazed if VinylStudio could confuse your system like that.  We do nothing unusual with the mouse.  Could it just be that VS is your most heavily used app and so there appears to be a link that isn't actually there?

[Javic]

Not sure what you mean by "a link that isn't actually there". Please explain.

Regardless, I too have no idea how any application could have this effect (I was a software engineer for 40 years, and never saw anything like this). Nevertheless, the only time this happens is when using VS (which is not my most heavily used app by far), and it always happens eventually, and repeatedly within a single session. And it happens both on Win7 and Win10 where I have hundreds of apps installed (some of which do get "confused" by my mouse button settings, but none of which affect the system at large).

I'll try to pay closer attention to see if I can discern what it is I do just before the problem arises. Typically, though, by the time I notice it's happened, I can't remember what I just did because I'm already focusing on what to do next. It seems to happen most often in Cleanup Audio, but that might just be because that's where I spend the most time after recording.

Again, if anybody can think of an experiment that might yield additional info I'll be happy to give it a try.

[Paul Sanders (AlpineSoft)]

OK.  If you can identify what triggers it, that would help a lot.