IOGraph

IOGraph is a feather-light application that tracks your mouse movements in any environment and translates this into a drawing inside its main window, which can be saved as a PNG image file.

IOGraph needs Java installed to run, but the app itself doesn't require setup. You can save the downloaded executable file anywhere on the hard drive or on a removable storage unit, and effortlessly launch it on any computer with Java. It shouldn't add new entries to the registry.

The UI consists of a small window that shows an empty canvas by default, along with a large button in the center. Clicking it triggers IOGraph to start following your mouse and it creates the drawing as you move the cursor.

Moreover, IOGraph begins to count the time passed since it was asked to record the mouse, marks the starting time, and lets you pause and resume the monitor. Mouse stops are indicated via circles in the drawing, and the size of the circle should give you an idea of how long the mouse remained inactive.

The drawing can be saved as a PNG image file with the tracking duration, or with the duration along with the start and end time mentioned in the file names.

As far as program customization is concerned, you can invert the UI colors, ask IOGraph to ignore mouse stops when counting time, as well as take a screenshot of the current desktop to apply it as the canvas image. Keyboard shortcuts and multiple monitors are supported.

The utility worked well throughout our evaluation, without hanging, crashing or showing error dialogs. It didn't hog system resources either, running on low CPU and RAM.

According to the developer, the purpose of IOGraph is to give you an idea of your past activity on the computer, by leaving it to run minimized while you carry on with your usual day. However, we fail to see the level of information which can be provided by a drawing with mouse trails, unless you're using it as a whiteboard for creating basic desktop presentations. Otherwise, it's a fun app to play with.