IOGraph

IOGraph is an application that transforms cursor movements into abstract graphical representations, recording trajectories and pauses during computer usage sessions. The tool runs in the background capturing mouse activity to generate an image composed of lines and circles that reflect movement patterns and inactivity periods, allowing export in PNG format.

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• Continuous trajectory recording. The application monitors cursor movement in real time while users perform their regular tasks, drawing lines that represent every movement made across the workspace. This process captures the entirety of traces without interruption until recording is manually stopped, providing a complete visual map of pointer activity throughout the session.
• Pause representation through circles. Whenever the cursor remains stationary for a specified period, the program inserts a circle at the exact location where the stop occurred. The diameter of these circles varies proportionally to the duration of inactivity, enabling visual identification of prolonged pause moments and differentiation from continuous movements within the generated graphic.
• Recording control with start and pause functions. The main interface presents a central button that activates or deactivates movement capture with a single action. During the recording session, users can pause tracking at any moment without losing previously collected data, and resume later to continue adding information to the same graphical canvas.
• Temporal marking in exported files. When saving the resulting image, the system offers the option to include in the file name the total recording duration, as well as the start and end timestamps. This functionality facilitates organization of multiple captures taken at different times or work sessions.
• PNG image export. The final graphic can be stored to disk as a PNG image file with high visual fidelity, preserving the original canvas resolution and all drawn elements. This format allows faithful reproduction of the lines and circles generated during activity recording.
• Interface color inversion. The application incorporates an option to toggle between light and dark color schemes within its main window, adjusting the appearance of the canvas and control elements according to user preference or environmental viewing conditions.
• Desktop capture as canvas background. The program can take a screenshot of the current desktop and use it as a background image within the drawing area. This function allows overlaying mouse traces onto a visual reference of the work environment at the time of recording.
• Ignore pauses in time counting. A configuration setting exists that allows excluding inactivity periods from the total recording time calculation. When this option is active, the counter only accumulates moments when the cursor is in motion, offering an alternative metric regarding the effective duration of activity.
• Multi-monitor compatibility. The tool recognizes extended desktop configurations with multiple monitors, tracking cursor movements across all connected screens. The drawing canvas adjusts to reflect the combined dimensions of the complete workspace, maintaining spatial proportion between different displays.
• Keyboard shortcuts for quick operations. The software includes key combinations that allow executing primary actions without directly interacting with the graphical window. These shortcuts facilitate control of recording while working in other applications, maintaining capture continuity.
• Installation-free execution. The application is distributed as an executable file that does not require a formal installation process. Users need only download the file and run it on a system that has the Java runtime environment, without modifying system registry or adding entries to the start menu.
• Elapsed time display during recording. The interface shows a counter indicating the accumulated time since capture began, providing continuous information about session duration. This metric updates in real time and can include or exclude pauses according to the selected configuration.

Development history: IOGraph (also known as IOGraphica) was created by developer Anatoly Zenkov as an experimental tool for visualizing mouse activity. The project began around 2008, when the first public versions of the application were released. The program is written in the Java programming language, which enables it to function across multiple operating systems that have the Java Virtual Machine installed.

Alternatives to IOGraph: