[HN Gopher] How I Use My Mouse
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       How I Use My Mouse
        
       Author : Sujeto
       Score  : 38 points
       Date   : 2023-02-10 13:08 UTC (3 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (github.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
        
       | whichfawkes wrote:
       | I've been using MMO-style mice to do similar things for a while.
       | 
       | Logitech's G-whatever software is kind of annoying, but one thing
       | I _do_ like about it is it'll flash the configurations directly
       | onto the mouse. This avoids needing to do any special config in
       | the OS.
       | 
       | I use their tool on Windows to just flash the mouse once, then I
       | can use it on any machine and all my custom key-binds and macros
       | "just work".
        
       | smoe wrote:
       | I went a different direction recently, i ditched the mouse and
       | instead bought a lower-end Huion graphical tablet. I do pretty
       | much everything with the keyboard, but while thinking about
       | things i much prefer sketching ideas and taking notes by hand
       | over e.g diagrams as code.
       | 
       | It has only been a couple weeks and im still getting used to
       | using a digital pen and what combination of software to use, but
       | pretty happy so far with the experience.
        
       | doubleunplussed wrote:
       | This is great. Customising extra mouse buttons for day-to-day
       | computer use is underrated.
       | 
       | I mapped the two side buttons on my mouse to switch virtual
       | desktops, and now I can't live without it. Switching desktops is
       | a three-fingered swipe away on a laptop trackpad, why shouldn't
       | it be as immediate with a mouse?
       | 
       | For my home theatre PC (i.e. the intel NUC that's plugged into
       | the TV for netflix), the wireless mouse that's sitting on my
       | coffee table has its side-buttons mapped to volume up/down, which
       | is important - the wireless keyboard has prominent volume
       | controls, but avoiding switching to the keyboard is extra useful
       | in this context.
       | 
       | I like my current mouse (microsoft intellimouse), but the
       | prospect of adding three further buttons in addition to the two
       | side buttons I already have, and the realisation that the escape
       | key, specifically, is one of the major drivers of mouse-to-
       | keyboard switches, is making me consider switching to the one in
       | the OP. Though being ambidextrous is a drawback - the
       | intellimouse is an excellent shape.
        
       | mattpallissard wrote:
       | As someone who's used tiling WM's for years this confuses me. How
       | I use my trackball? I don't outside of having to access something
       | in Firefox that vimium isn't allowed to touch.
        
         | yjftsjthsd-h wrote:
         | And there's always keynav to close the gap, too:)
        
         | k_ wrote:
         | I was half expecting a very short entry basically saying "Well,
         | most of the times, I don't."
        
       | gertlex wrote:
       | I enjoy write-ups like this! Decided to illustrate mine
       | similarly, just now:
       | 
       | https://imgur.com/pmMtCG2
       | 
       | It's very geared towards browser (over-)use. Rest of the time,
       | I'm in a terminal with minimal mouse use besides
       | select/copy/paste stuff.
        
       | Loveaway wrote:
       | I use a Razer Naga MMO mouse for work, it has 12 buttons on the
       | side and I bind all kind of things on them. Run/Debug, Hot
       | Reload, Volume Up/Down, Back & Forward etc.
       | 
       | There's a 3rd party tool for MacOS called SteerMouse, that let's
       | you configure everything without ever touching Razer software
       | (shudder).
       | 
       | I'm always looking for a non-gaming focused alternative, with a
       | maybe a bit more slick industrial design, but sadly there are
       | none, so I think Razer is currently the best on the market.
        
         | kergonath wrote:
         | > I use a Razer Naga MMO mouse for work, it has 12 buttons on
         | the side and I bind all kind of things on them. Run/Debug, Hot
         | Reload, Volume Up/Down, Back & Forward etc.
         | 
         | That's my setup as well, and it is amazing. I really recommend
         | it.
         | 
         | > There's a 3rd party tool for MacOS called SteerMouse, that
         | let's you configure everything without ever touching Razer
         | software (shudder).
         | 
         | Which is just as good, as Razer's software is not updated
         | anymore. Newer mice are not officially supported. SteerMouse is
         | great, though, even with the newest models.
         | 
         | > I'm always looking for a non-gaming focused alternative, with
         | a maybe a bit more slick industrial design, but sadly there are
         | none, so I think Razer is currently the best on the market.
         | 
         | The Logitech G604 was great, I liked its ergonomics better than
         | the Naga and it was visually unremarkable (all black with no
         | blinking RHB nonsense). Sadly they don't make it anymore.
         | 
         | I haven't seen a non-gaming mouse that could be comparable. The
         | closest I have tried is the MX Master: the side scroll thing is
         | interesting (particularly for 3D visualisation as you can
         | entirely control a camera in a 3D space just with the mouse,
         | leaving the other hand free for other controls) and the device
         | is well built and satisfying to use, but does not have enough
         | buttons.
        
       | chem83 wrote:
       | I have an MX2 and MX3, which work about the same.
       | 
       | Side wheel is mapped to switching desktops, which on Mac is a
       | nice, smooth animation that follows the wheel, on Windows it's
       | acceptable instant switch and on Linux I haven't tried it yet.
       | 
       | Back button stays as is, it's helpful. Forward button and scroll
       | mode buttons can be remapped and I'm still considering the
       | options. Emoji menu is an option, because I always forget the
       | keyboard shortcut across platforms. Base button is the gesture
       | control from Logi Options+, but I barely used it because I find
       | it a bit unergonomic.
        
       | ridiculous_fish wrote:
       | On macOS, I use SensibleSideButtons to map my Logitech mouse side
       | buttons to Swipe Right and Swipe Left. This works as a generic
       | Forwards/Back in lots of places: Safari, Firefox, Finder, iTerm2.
       | 
       | Unfortunately the app appears to be abandoned (no Apple Silicon
       | builds), but if there's interest I will resurrect it.
       | 
       | https://sensible-side-buttons.archagon.net
        
         | jpb0104 wrote:
         | Check out: https://mousefix.org/
        
         | fragmede wrote:
         | Isn't this functionality covered by Karabiner?
        
           | kergonath wrote:
           | That's overkill just for the side buttons, though. I feel bad
           | every time I need to tinker with Karabiner because I don't
           | think I understand half the options.
           | 
           | To me, SteerMouse is more user-friendly and less
           | intimidating. It might or might not help solve the OP's
           | problem, depending on the mouse model. Worth a try anyway.
        
       | RDaneel0livaw wrote:
       | This is great! It really makes me yearn for a VIA like
       | application to rise to popularity for mice. I still have trouble
       | doing any kind of software anything with almost all popular
       | modern mice on linux. There's an open razer app that's popular,
       | but I think that's maybe it? I had a Glorious mouse for a long
       | while I loved, but couldn't do a thing with it software wise.
        
       | tastysandwich wrote:
       | I'm surprised how few people seem to use the wheel as a middle-
       | click button (eg, to open new tabs).
       | 
       | When I switched to a Logitech MX Anywhere it had no middle wheel
       | click. I thought this was an absolute scandal - wasn't everyone
       | using this!? Apparently not.
       | 
       | Amazing how some things we think are the status quo turn out not
       | to be.
        
         | m2fkxy wrote:
         | I use middle mouse button (MMB) all the time! To open links in
         | new tabs, close tabs and windows (i.e. MMB-click an app shown
         | in the Alt-Tab menu), or hold to scroll.
        
         | kirenida wrote:
         | One more middle mouse button user here.
         | 
         | It's usually the first thing that stops working on my mice.
         | 
         | Also I love it that ThinkPads still have 3 physical mouse
         | buttons over the touchpad, so I don't have to mess with the
         | gestures or hold down Ctrl to open links in new tabs.
        
         | Kwpolska wrote:
         | Does it really not have the middle wheel click? This screenshot
         | [0] seems to show it does, perhaps it's not the default and
         | needs to be configured in the software? (My MX Master 3
         | certainly has a clickable mouse wheel, and I use it quite
         | often.)
         | 
         | [0]: https://cx-
         | assets.logi.com/CC%20Graphics/OptionsPlusUI/4_Opt...
        
           | tastysandwich wrote:
           | The Mx Master has a middle click
           | 
           | I think the MX Anywhere 3 might have a middle click, but the
           | 2S (which I had) didn't.
           | 
           | https://www.reddit.com/r/MouseReview/comments/ew9hik/still_n.
           | ..
        
       | hbrn wrote:
       | I use something very similar with Logitech devices and can't
       | imagine my life without it.
       | 
       | One thing I'll add, IMO it makes way more sense to map "forward"
       | button to "Enter". Esc is already easy to reach if you keep your
       | left hand on the left side of the keyboard.
        
       | xemoka wrote:
       | I use an Elecom Huge[1] trackball, it's got a few extra buttons
       | that I've mapped with SteerMouse[2] (excellent MacOS Mouse Driver
       | tool) and BetterTouchTool on macOS to provide window and space
       | management/switching:
       | 
       | It has: Left click, Right Click, Scroll wheel press, scroll wheel
       | tilt down, scroll wheel tilt up, back, forward, fn1 and fn2 by
       | the wheel, and fn3 right next to the right click.
       | 
       | - Scroll Wheel Press and Fn3: are set to middle click (for some
       | reason, in my setup, fn3 can't always be the third mouse
       | depending on context... it's annoying).
       | 
       | - fn1: Expose
       | 
       | - fn2: Application Expose
       | 
       | - hold fn3 + tilt down: previous space
       | 
       | - hold fn3 + tilt up: next space
       | 
       | - back/forward: set to move backwards and forwards or swap tabs
       | depending on the application (customized with BetterTouchTool
       | per-app)
       | 
       | - Bonus: Easy Move + Resize [4]: I hold my configured Hyper key
       | (left control on my external keyboard, karabiner configured to be
       | cmd+option+control+shift) and left-click to move, right-click to
       | resize
       | 
       | [1]: https://elecomus.com/web/product/3271/
       | 
       | [2]: https://www.plentycom.jp/en/steermouse/
       | 
       | [3]: https://folivora.ai/
       | 
       | [4]: https://github.com/dmarcotte/easy-move-resize
        
       | itsjustjordan wrote:
       | Work daily on a Mac and use a mouse and trackpad simultaneously,
       | I find the trackpad the quickest for navigation but need the
       | precision of a mouse. Wonder how a setup similar to this would go
       | instead of the trackpad.
        
       | officeplant wrote:
       | I love my CST L-Trac but sometimes I wish I'd gotten the version
       | with the extra button inputs to setup some extra keybinds.
       | 
       | Alternatively I've finally become used to having a magictrackpad2
       | and gestures. And thank you other devs[1] for someone getting it
       | working on Windows x86/ARM64 builds as well. Next step is trying
       | to find out if I can get it working fully under FreeBSD.
       | 
       | [1]https://github.com/imbushuo/mac-precision-touchpad
        
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       (page generated 2023-02-13 23:00 UTC)