When you need to tweak the volume on your PC then the standard Windows sound applet will get the job done, but it’s a little basic. You’ll have to click it first, and if you want to adjust anything other than the full volume for all your channels then you’ll need to explore the Mixer settings, too.

And so If that just doesn’t suit your needs then you may prefer NirSoft’s Volumouse 2, a powerful tool which comes packed with time-saving volume control options.

There’s no need to click an icon before you’re able to adjust your system volume, for instance. Volumouse is able to create custom rules which apply when, say, you hold down the left mouse button, or press a particular hotkey, so if you do that, and spin the mouse wheel, then your volume will go up or down accordingly.

You’re not restricted to tweaking your entire system volume, either (although that is the default). You can create rules to adjust the left or right channel, or any other on your system. And if you’re using Windows Vista, 7 or 2008 then you can even have Volumouse tweak the volume just for a particular application (this can be the application in focus, or a particular EXE file).

And if controlling speaker volume alone isn’t enough for you, then you’ll be pleased to hear that Volumouse can adjust many other system and application attributes. Most of these are audio-related, so for instance you’re able to adjust microphone levels, default recording levels and more. But there are some surprising extras, including the ability to tweak screen brightness or window transparency, which work in exactly the same way. So, for instance, you could have a single custom rule which allows you to make the current window more or less transparent just by holding down the Alt key and spinning the mouse wheel, while ignoring all the volume options entirely.

Volumouse may not be a conventional NirSoft tool, then; there’s no system reporting here, no tables of information, no exporting of HTML pages. There’s still all the power and versatility that we’ve come to accept from a Nir Sofer creation, though, and if the standard Windows volume control doesn’t deliver the power you need then this makes an excellent alternative. (As a beta, this may not be quite as reliable as usual, but it worked just fine during our tests.)