This document describes mouse support in X.Org Foundation's X11R7.5 server.
Mouse configuration has often been mysterious task for
novice users.
However, once you learn several basics, it is straightforward
to write the mouse "InputDevice"
section in the xorg.conf file by hand.
The X.Org Foundation X server supports four classes of mice: serial, bus and PS/2 mice, and additional mouse types supported by specific operating systems, such as USB mice.
The serial mouse has been the most popular pointing device for PCs. There have been numerous serial mouse models from a number of manufactures. Despite the wide range of variations, there have been relatively few protocols (data format) with which the serial mouse talks to the host computer.
The modern serial mouse conforms to the PnP COM device specification so that the host computer can automatically detect the mouse and load an appropriate driver. The X server supports this specification and can detect popular PnP serial mouse models on most platforms.
The bus mouse connects to a dedicated interface card in an expansion slot. Some video cards, notably those from ATI, and integrated I/O cards may also have a bus mouse connector. Some bus mice are known as `InPort mouse'.
Note that some mouse manufactures have sold a package including a serial mouse and a serial interface card. Don't confuse this type of products with the genuine bus mouse.
They are sometimes called `Mouse-port mouse'. The PS/2 mouse is becoming increasingly common and popular.
The PS/2 mouse is an intelligent device and may have more than three buttons and a wheel or a roller. The PS/2 mouse is usually compatible with the original PS/2 mouse from IBM immediately after power up. The PS/2 mouse with additional features requires a specialized initialization procedure to enable these features. Without proper initialization, it behaves as though it were an ordinary two or three button mouse.
USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports are present on most modern computers. Several devices can be plugged into this bus, including mice and keyboards.
The server includes support for USB mice on some systems.
Many mice nowadays can be used both as a serial mouse and as a PS/2 mouse. They has a logic to distinguish which interface it is connected to. However, the mouse which is not marketed as compatible with both serial and PS/2 mouse interface lacks this logic and cannot be used in such a way, even if you can find an appropriate adapter with which you can connect the PS/2 mouse to a serial port or visa versa.
X11R7.5 supports the mouse with a wheel, a roller or a knob.
Its action is detected as the Z (third) axis motion of the mouse.
As the X server or clients normally do not use the Z axis movement of the
pointing device, a configuration option, "ZAxisMapping",
is provided to assign the Z axis movement to another axis or a pair
of buttons (see below).
Protocol Types
serial PnP BusMouse PS/2 Extended PS/2
OS platforms protocols serial protocol protocol protocols
"Auto" "BusMouse" "PS/2" "xxxPS/2" USB
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
BSD/OS Ok ? ? ? ? ?
FreeBSD Ok Ok Ok Ok SP*1 SP*1
FreeBSD(98) Ok ? Ok NA NA ?
Interactive Unix Ok NA ?*1 ?*1 NA ?
Linux Ok Ok Ok Ok Ok ?
Linux/98 Ok ? Ok NA NA ?
LynxOS Ok NA Ok Ok NA ?
NetBSD Ok Ok Ok SP*1 SP*1 SP*1
NetBSD/pc98 Ok ? Ok NA NA NA
OpenBSD Ok Ok Ok Ok*1 Ok*1 Ok*1
OS/2 SP*2 SP*2 SP*2 SP*2 SP*2 ?
SCO Ok ? SP*1 SP*1 NA ?
Solaris 2.x Ok NA*1 ?*1 Ok Ok SP*1
SVR4 Ok NA*1 SP*1 SP*1 NA ?
PANIX Ok ? SP*1 SP*1 NA ?
Ok: support is available, NA: not available, ?: untested or unknown.
SP: support is available in a different form
*1 Refer to the following sections for details.
*2 X11R7.5/OS2 will support any type of mouse that the OS supports,
whether it is serial, bus mouse, or PnP type.
No testing has been done with BSD/OS.
FreeBSD supports the "SysMouse" protocol which must be
specified when the moused daemon is running in versions 2.2.1
or later.
When running the mouseddaemon, you must always specify the
/dev/sysmouse device and the "SysMouse" protocol
to the X server, regardless of the actual type of your mouse.
FreeBSD versions 2.2.6 or later include the kernel-level
support for extended PS/2 mouse protocols and there is no need to specify
the exact protocol name to the X server.
Instead specify the "PS/2" or "Auto" protocol and
the X server will automatically make use of the kernel-level support.
In fact, "Auto" protocol support is really efficient in these
versions.
You may always specify "Auto" to any mouse, serial,
bus or PS/2, unless the mouse is an old serial model which doesn't
support PnP.
FreeBSD versions 2.2.5 or earlier do not support extended PS/2
mouse protocols ("xxxPS/2").
Always specify the "PS/2" protocol for any PS/2 mouse
in these versions regardless of the brand of the mouse.
FreeBSD versions 3.1 or later have support for USB mice.
Specify the "Auto" protocol for the /dev/ums0 device.
(If the moused daemon is running for the USB mouse,
you must use /dev/sysmouse instead of /dev/ums0
as explained above.) See the ums(4) manual page for details.
The PS/2 mouse is not supported.
The PnP serial mouse support (the "Auto" protocol) is not
supported for the moment.
The bus mouse and PS/2 mouse should be supported by using the
appropriate device drivers.
Use /dev/mouse for the "BusMouse" protocol
and /dev/kdmouse for the "PS/2" protocol.
These protocols are untested but may work.
Please send success/failure reports to
All protocol types should work.
The PS/2 mouse is not supported.
The PnP serial mouse support (the "Auto" protocol) is disabled in
LynxOS, because of limited TTY device driver functionality.
NetBSD 1.3.x and former does not support extended PS/2 mouse protocols
("xxxPS/2").
The PS/2 mouse device driver /dev/pms emulates the bus mouse.
Therefore, you should always specify the "BusMouse" protocol for
any PS/2 mouse regardless of the brand of the mouse.
The "wsmouse" protocol introduced in NetBSD
1.4 along with the wscons console driver is supported. You need to run binaries
compiled on NetBSD 1.4 to have support
for it though. Use "/dev/wsmouse0" for the device. Refer to the
wsmousedrv(4) manual page for kernel configuration informations.
This driver also provides support for USB mice. See the ums(4) manual page for details.
The PS/2 mouse is not supported.
The raw PS/2 mouse device driver /dev/psm0 uses the raw PS/2
mouse protocol.
OpenBSD 2.2 and earlier does not support extended PS/2 mouse protocols
("xxxPS/2") . Therefore, you should specify the
"PS/2" protocol for any PS/2 mouse regardless of the brand of
the mouse.
OpenBSD 2.3 and later support all extended PS/2 mouse protocols.
You can select the "Auto" protocol for PnP PS/2
mice or any specific extended ("xxxPS/2") protocol
for non PnP mice.
There is also a cooked PS/2 mouse device driver /dev/pms0
which emulates the bus mouse. Specify the "BusMouse"
protocol for any PS/2 mouse regardless of the brand of the mouse when
using this device.
XFree86 3.3.6 support USB mice on OpenBSD 2.6 and later though the
generic Human Interface Device (hid) /dev/uhid*. Select the
"usb" protocol and the /dev/uhid* instance
corresponding to your mouse as the device name.
X11R7.5/OS2 always uses the native mouse driver of the operating system and will support any type of pointer that the OS supports, whether it is serial, bus mouse, or PnP type. If the mouse works under Presentation Manager, it will also work under X11R7.5/OS2.
Always specify "OSMouse" as the protocol type.
The bus and PS/2 mouse are supported with the "OSMouse"
protocol type.
The "OSMouse" may also be used with the serial mouse.
Testing has been done with Solaris 2.5.1, 2.6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
On Solaris 10 1/06 and later versions with "virtual mouse" support, all PS/2 and USB mice connected to the system can be accessed via the /dev/mouse device using the VUID protocol, including USB mice plugged in after the X server is started. On older releases or to address mice individually, specific devices and protocols may be used.
Logitech and Microsoft bus mice
have not been tested, but might work with the /dev/logi and
/dev/msm devices.
Standard 2 and 3 button PS/2 mice work with the "PS/2" protocol
type and the /dev/kdmouse device.
USB mice work with the "VUID" protocol type and the
/dev/mouse device.
The PnP serial mouse support via the "Auto" protocol has been tested
and does not work. The "Auto" protocol can however detect PS/2 and
USB mice correctly.
Additional USB mice can be connected using the "VUID" protocol type
and the appropriate "/dev/usb/hid" device with the Option "StreamsModule" "usbms" line included in the associated "InputDevice"
section.
The bus and PS/2 mouse may be supported with the "Xqueue"
protocol type.
The "Xqueue" may also be used with the serial mouse.
The PnP serial mouse support (the "Auto" protocol) is not
tested.
The PC/AT version of PANIX supports the bus and PS/2 mouse with the
"Xqueue" protocol type.
The PC-98 version of PANIX supports the bus mouse with the
"Xqueue" protocol type.
Before using the xorgconfig program
to set up mouse configuration, you must identify the interface type,
the device name and the protocol type of your mouse.
Blindly trying every possible combination of mouse settings
will lead you nowhere.
The first thing you need to know is the interface type of the mouse you are going to use. It can be determined by looking at the connector of the mouse. The serial mouse has a D-Sub female 9- or 25-pin connector. The bus mice have either a D-Sub male 9-pin connector or a round DIN 9-pin connector. The PS/2 mouse is equipped with a small, round DIN 6-pin connector. USB mice have a thin rectangular connector. Some mice come with adapters with which the connector can be converted to another. If you are to use such an adapter, remember that the connector at the very end of the mouse/adapter pair is what matters.
The next thing to decide is a device node to use for the given interface. For the bus and PS/2 mice, there is little choice; your OS most possibly offers just one device node each for the bus mouse and PS/2 mouse. There may be more than one serial port to which the serial mouse can be attached.
The next step is to guess the appropriate protocol type for the mouse. The X server may be able to select a protocol type for the given mouse automatically in some cases. Otherwise, the user has to choose one manually. Follow the guidelines below.
The bus and InPort mice always use "BusMouse"
protocol regardless of the brand of the mouse.
Some OSs may allow you to specify "Auto" as the
protocol type for the bus mouse.
The "PS/2" protocol should always be tried first for the PS/2 mouse
regardless of the brand of the mouse.
Any PS/2 mouse should work with this protocol type, although
wheels and other additional features are unavailable in the
X server.
After verifying the mouse works with this protocol,
you may choose to specify one of "xxxPS/2" protocols so that
extra features are made available in the X server.
However, support for these PS/2 mice assumes certain behavior of
the underlying OS and may not always work as expected.
Support for some PS/2 mouse models may be disabled all together
for some OS platforms for this reason.
Some OSs may allow you to specify "Auto" as the
protocol type for the PS/2 mouse and the X server will automatically
adjust itself.
The server supports a wide range of mice, both old and new. If your mouse is of a relatively new model, it may conform to the PnP COM device specification and the X server may be able to detect an appropriate protocol type for the mouse automatically.
Specify "Auto" as the protocol type and start the X server.
If the mouse is not a PnP mouse, or the X server cannot determine
a suitable protocol type, the server will print the following
error message and abort.
<mousename>: cannot determine the mouse protocol
If the X server generates the above error message, you need to manually specify a protocol type for your mouse. Choose one from the following list:
GlidePointIntelliMouseLogitechMicrosoftMMHittabMMSeriesMouseManMouseSystemsThinkingMouseWhen you choose, keep in mind the following rule of thumb:
"Logitech" protocol is for old serial mouse models
from Logitech.
Modern Logitech mice use either "MouseMan" or "Microsoft"
protocol."Microsoft" protocol."Mousesystems"
protocol. If it doesn't, it may work instead with the
"Microsoft" protocol although the third (middle) button won't
function.
3-button serial mice may also work with the "Mouseman"
protocol under which the third button may function as expected."Microsoft" protocol.
“PC” or “3” will choose the "MouseSystems" protocol."IntelliMouse" protocol."IntelliMouse" protocol, you have to use it
as a regular 2- or 3-button serial mouse.If the "Auto" protocol is specified and the mouse seems to be working,
but you find that not all features of the mouse are available, that is
because the X server does not have native support for that model of mouse
and is using a “compatible” protocol according to PnP information.
If you suspect this is the case with your mouse, please enter a bug report at http://bugzilla.freedesktop.org, using the xorg product.
If your mouse is connected to the USB port, it can either be supported
by the "Auto" protocol, or by an OS-specific protocol (see below),
or as a generic Human Interface Device by the "usb" protocol.
Mouse device drivers in your OS may use the standardized protocol
regardless of the model or the class of the mouse.
For example, SVR4 systems may support "Xqueue" protocol.
In FreeBSD the system mouse device /dev/sysmouse
uses the "SysMouse" protocol.
Please refer to the OS support section of this file for more information.
The old Pointer section has been replaced by a more general
InputDevice section. The following is a minimal example
of an InputDevice section for a mouse:
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Mouse 1"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
EndSection
The mouse driver supports the following config file options:
This option tells the X server the number of buttons on the mouse. Currently there is no reliable way to automatically detect the correct number. This option is the only means for the X server to obtain it. The default value is three.
Note that if you intend to assign Z axis movement to button events
using the ZAxisMapping option below, you need to take account
of those buttons into N too.
Option "Buttons" "N"
This option maps the Z axis (wheel) motion to buttons or to another axis.
Option "ZAxisMapping" "X"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "Y"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "N1 N2"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "N1 N2 N3 N4"
The first example will map the Z axis motion to the X axis motion.
Whenever the user moves the wheel/roller, its movement is reported as
the X axis motion. When the wheel/roller stays still, the real X axis
motion is reported as is. The third example will map negative Z axis
motion to the button N1 and positive Z axis motion to
the button N2. If this option is used and the buttons N1
or N2 actually exists in the mouse,
their actions won't be detected by the X server.
The last example is useful for the mouse with two wheels of which
the second wheel is used to generate horizontal scroll action,
and the mouse which has a knob or a stick which can detect the horizontal
force applied by the user.
The motion of the second wheel will be mapped to the buttons N3,
for the negative direction, and N4, for the positive direction.
If the buttons N3 and N4 actually exist in this mouse,
their actions won't be detected by the X server.
NOTE #1: horizontal movement may not always be detected by the current version of the X11R7.5 X servers, because there appears to be no accepted standard as to how the horizontal direction is encoded in mouse data.
NOTE #2: Some mice think left is the negative horizontal direction, others may think otherwise. Moreover, there are some mice whose two wheels are both mounted vertically, and the direction of the second vertical wheel does not match the first one's.
You need to edit the xorg.conf file by hand to change this option if
the default value of "4 5 6 7" does not match the needs of your configuration.
The following option will set the mouse device resolution to N
counts per inch, if possible:
Option "Resolution" "N"
Not all mice and OSs can support this option.
Some people find it difficult or inconvenient to hold a trackball button down, while at the same time moving the ball. Drag lock buttons simulate the holding down of another button. When a drag lock button is first pressed, its target buttons is "locked" down until the second time the lock button is released, or until the button itself is pressed and released. This allows the starting of a drag, the movement of the trackball, and the ending of the drag to be separate operations.
Option "DragLockButtons" "W X Y Z"
This option consists of pairs of buttons. Each lock button number is followed by the number of the button that it locks. In the above, button number "W" is a drag lock button for button "X" and button number "Y" is a drag lock button for button "Z".
It may not be desirable to use multiple buttons as drag locks. Instead, a "master drag lock button" may be defined. A master drag lock button acts as a "META" key. After a master lock button is released, the next button pressed is "locked" and not released until the second time the real button is released.
Option "DragLockButtons" "M"
Since button "M" is unpaired it is a master drag lock button.
In all of the examples below, it is assumed that /dev/mouse is
a link to the appropriate serial port or PS/2 mouse device.
This mouse has a wheel which also acts as the button 2 (middle button).
The wheel movement is recognized as the Z axis motion.
This behavior is not compatible with XFree86 versions prior to 3.3.2,
but is more consistent with the support for other mice with
wheels or rollers.
If you want to make the wheel behave like before,
you can use the "ZAxisMapping" option as described above.
IntelliMouse supports the PnP COM device specification.
To use this mouse as a serial device:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
or:
Option "Protocol" "IntelliMouse"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device but the OS does not support PS/2 mouse initialization (the wheel won't work in this case):
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports automatic PS/2 mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
This mouse has a wheel which also acts as the button 2 (middle button). There are two side buttons; they are recognized as the buttons 4 and 5. The wheel movement is recognized as the Z axis motion.
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device but the OS does not support PS/2 mouse initialization (the wheel and the side buttons won't work in this case):
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports automatic PS/2 mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
To use this mouse as the USB device and the OS supports the generic HID protocol:
Option "Protocol" "usb"
To use this mouse as the USB device and the OS supports automatic mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
These mice have four buttons. The Kensington Expert Mouse is really a trackball. Both Thinking mice support the PnP COM device specification.
To use this mouse as a serial device:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
or:
Option "Protocol" "ThinkingMouse"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "ThinkingMousePS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device but the OS does not support PS/2 mouse initialization (the third and the fourth buttons act as though they were the first and the second buttons):
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports automatic PS/2 mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
This mouse has four buttons and a roller. The roller movement is recognized as the Z axis motion.
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "NetScrollPS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device but the OS does not support PS/2 mouse initialization (the roller and the fourth button won't work):
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports automatic PS/2 mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
These mice have a "magic button" which is used like a wheel or a roller. The "magic button" action is recognized as the Z axis motion. NetMouse Pro is identical to NetMouse except that it has the third button on the left hand side.
NetMouse and NetMouse Pro support the PnP COM device specification. When used as a serial mouse, they are compatible with MS IntelliMouse.
To use these mice as a serial device:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
or:
Option "Protocol" "IntelliMouse"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "NetMousePS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device but the OS does not support PS/2 mouse initialization (the "magic button" and the third button won't work):
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports automatic PS/2 mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
This mouse has a wheel which also acts as the button 2 (middle button), and two side buttons which are recognized as the buttons 4 and 5. It is compatible with NetMouse and NetMouse Pro.
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "NetMousePS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device but the OS does not support PS/2 mouse initialization (the wheel and the side buttons won't work):
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports automatic PS/2 mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
To use this mouse as the USB device and the OS supports the generic HID protocol:
Option "Protocol" "usb"
To use this mouse as the USB device and the OS supports automatic mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
The serial version of this pad device has been supported since XFree86 3.2. `Tapping' action is interpreted as the fourth button press. (IMHO, the fourth button of GlidePoint should always be mapped to the first button in order to make this pad behave like the other pad products.)
To use this pad as a serial device:
Option "Protocol" "GlidePoint"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "GlidePointPS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device but the OS does not support PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports automatic PS/2 mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
This mouse appears to be OEM from Genius. Although its shape is quite different, it works like Genius NetMouse Pro. This mouse has a "knob" which is used like a wheel or a roller. The "knob" action is recognized as the Z axis motion.
MieMouse supports the PnP COM device specification. When used as a serial mouse, it is compatible with MS IntelliMouse.
To use this mouse as a serial device:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
or:
Option "Protocol" "IntelliMouse"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "NetMousePS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device but the OS does not support PS/2 mouse initialization (the knob and the third button won't work):
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports automatic PS/2 mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
MouseMan+ has two buttons on top, one side button and a roller. FirstMouse+ has two buttons and a roller. The roller movement is recognized as the Z axis motion. The roller also acts as the third button. The side button is recognized as the fourth button.
MouseMan+ and FirstMouse+ support the PnP COM device specification. They have MS IntelliMouse compatible mode when used as a serial mouse.
To use these mice as a serial device:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
or:
Option "Protocol" "IntelliMouse"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "MouseManPlusPS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device but the OS does not support PS/2 mouse initialization (the wheel and the fourth button won't work):
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports automatic PS/2 mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
ScrollPoint has a "stick" in between the two buttons.
This "stick" is the same as the stick-shaped pointing device often
found on notebook computers, on which you move the mouse cursor by
pushing the stick.
The stick movement is recognized as the Z axis motion.
You can push the stick to right and left, as well as forward and
backward. Give four numbers to ZAxisMapping option
to map movement along all these four directions to button actions.
This mouse is compatible with Logitech MouseMan+. To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "MouseManPlusPS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device but the OS does not support PS/2 mouse initialization (the stick won't work):
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports automatic PS/2 mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
ScrollMouse, also known as GyroMouse, has a "stick" similar to
IBM ScrollPoint.
The stick movement is recognized as the Z axis motion.
You can push the stick to right and left, as well as forward and
backward. Give four numbers to ZAxisMapping option
to map movement along all these four directions to button actions.
ScrollMouse supports the PnP COM device specification. When used as a serial mouse, it is compatible with MS IntelliMouse.
To use this mouse as a serial device:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
or:
Option "Protocol" "IntelliMouse"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device but the OS does not support PS/2 mouse initialization (the stick won't work):
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports automatic PS/2 mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
A4 Tech produces quit a number of mice with one or two wheels.
Their mice may have 2, 3, or 4 buttons.
The wheels movement is recognized as the Z axis motion.
Give four numbers to ZAxisMapping option
to map movement of both wheels to button actions.
4D mice support the PnP COM device specification. When used as a serial mouse, it is compatible with MS IntelliMouse.
To use this mouse as a serial device:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
or:
Option "Protocol" "IntelliMouse"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports PS/2 mouse initialization:
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device but the OS does not support PS/2 mouse initialization (the wheels won't work):
Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
To use this mouse as the PS/2 device and the OS supports automatic PS/2 mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
To use this mouse as the USB device and the OS supports the generic HID protocol:
Option "Protocol" "usb"
To use this mouse as the USB device and the OS supports automatic mouse detection:
Option "Protocol" "Auto"
This section shows some example InputDevice section for
popular mice. All the examples assume that the mouse is connected to
the PS/2 mouse port, and the OS supports the PS/2 mouse initialization.
It is also assumed that /dev/mouse is
a link to the PS/2 mouse port.
Logitech MouseMan+ has 4 buttons and a wheel. The following example makes the wheel movement available as the button 5 and 6.
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "MouseMan+"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "Protocol" "MouseManPlusPS/2"
Option "Buttons" "6"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "5 6"
EndSection
You can change button number assignment using the xmodmap
command AFTER you start the X server with the above configuration.
You may not like to use the wheel as the button 2 and rather want
the side button (button 4) act like the button 2. You may also
want to map the wheel movement to the button 4 and 5.
This can be done by the following command:
xmodmap -e "pointer = 1 6 3 2 4 5"
After this command is run, the correspondence between the buttons and button numbers will be as shown in the following table.
Physical Buttons Reported as: ------------------------------------ 1 Left Button Button 1 2 Wheel Button Button 6 3 Right Button Button 3 4 Side Button Button 2 5 Wheel Negative Move Button 4 6 Wheel Positive Move Button 5
Starting in the Xorg 6.9 release, you can also achieve this in your configuration file by adding this to the "InputDevice" section in xorg.conf:
Option "ButtonMapping" "1 6 3 2 4 5"
For the MS IntelliMouse Explorer which as a wheel and 5 buttons,
you may have the following InputDevice section.
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "IntelliMouse Explorer"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ExplorerPS/2"
Option "Buttons" "7"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"
EndSection
The IntelliMouse Explorer has 5 buttons, thus, you should give "7"
to the Buttons option if you want to map the wheel movement
to buttons (6 and 7).
With this configuration, the correspondence between the buttons and
button numbers will be as follows:
Physical Buttons Reported as: ------------------------------------ 1 Left Button Button 1 2 Wheel Button Button 2 3 Right Button Button 3 4 Side Button 1 Button 4 5 Side Button 2 Button 5 6 Wheel Negative Move Button 6 7 Wheel Positive Move Button 7
You can change button number assignment using xmodmap
AFTER you started the X server with the above configuration.
xmodmap -e "pointer = 1 2 3 4 7 5 6"
The above command will moves the side button 2 to the button 7 and make the wheel movement reported as the button 5 and 6. See the table below.
Physical Buttons Reported as: ------------------------------------ 1 Left Button Button 1 2 Wheel Button Button 2 3 Right Button Button 3 4 Side Button 1 Button 4 5 Side Button 2 Button 7 6 Wheel Negative Move Button 5 7 Wheel Positive Move Button 6
For the A4 Tech WinEasy mouse which has two wheels and 3 buttons,
you may have the following InputDevice section.
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "WinEasy"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "Protocol" "IMPS/2"
Option "Buttons" "7"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
EndSection
The movement of the first wheel is mapped to the button 4 and 5. The second wheel's movement will be reported as the buttons 6 and 7.
The Kensington Expert mouse is really a trackball. It has 4 buttons arranged in a rectangle around the ball.
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "DLB"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ThinkingMousePS/2"
Option "Buttons" "3"
Option "Emulate3Buttons"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "DragLockButtons" "2 1 4 3"
EndSection
Because button 2 is being used as a drag lock, it can not be
used as an ordinary button. However, it can be activated by
using the "Emulate3Buttons" feature. However, some people my
be unable to press two buttons at the same time. They may
prefer the following InputDevice section which
defines button 4 as a master drag lock button, and leaves
button 2 free for ordinary use.
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "MasterDLB"
Driver "mouse"
Option "Protocol" "ThinkingMousePS/2"
Option "Buttons" "3"
Option "Device" "/dev/mouse"
Option "DragLockButtons" "4"
EndSection