Web Accessibility Tools : FireGestures

FireGestures is an add-on to Mozilla Firefox that allows commands to be run with combinations of mouse, keyboard and scroll wheel gestures made on the display area of the browser. By holding the activating mouse button (default = right), a user can make a simple mouse stroke and execute a command. A stroke to the left will represent moving to the previous page visited in recent history and similarly, a right stroke represents moving forward. Conveniently, the path of the stroke is displayed with a customizable colour on the page.


Strokes are registered as up (U), down (D), left (L), or right (R). As a result, any combination of these can represent a unique command. For example LRLRD may be mapped as a command to close the current tab. Careful thought was also put into how a new mouse gesture is registered. When registering, there is an input box where the user can draw out their gesture and the stroke combination will be displayed underneath.

Although I only mentioned mouse stroke combinations, there are also combinations that can be made with the scroll wheel and keystrokes while the activation key is held. These work the same way with the mapping.

This may be a very interesting tool, but the concept isn’t without its flaws. There being only 4 directional mouse strokes always leads to ambiguity when dealing with the “in-between” cases. If an individual were to make a north-easterly stroke, it may be read as either an up or a right stroke.

Another issue with the concept would be that compound script gestures that have similar mappings to other gestures could lead to disastrous results. The problem is that the more gestures that you add, the more similar the gesture compositions will be and the easier it will be to apply the wrong one. An extra left stroke could be the difference between reloading a page and deleting browsing history.

Also, there is a factor to consider that limits the commands you can or should use. After a while, basic combinations of left, right, up and down strokes will be exhausted, which will force the user to add more movements. Eventually, stroke sets will become so complex that it may be faster to simply click the original button associated with that action.

Tools such as FireGestures can find its uses for individuals who suffer from Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI). Movements will be simpler and made in a smaller space to reduce the number of traditional “big movements” required for most tasks. The concept of the FireGestures add-on is very interesting; however, there are many flaws in its design that may outweigh the value.