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Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboards, mice, and other devices

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Re: Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboards, mice, and other devices

#111

Post by [deleted] »

lsaferite wrote: post #100
bayindirh wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be able to program all the configurable buttons, and upload the macros and settings to the profiles present on the mouse itself, so you can use all the features of your mouse, tailored to you, even if you don’t have the software on the target device you’re using your mouse. Yes, Logitech’s high end mice store settings themselves. The app is just a programming interface. It sometimes does per program profile switch…

And yet, my keyboard can do almost (no per-program switching) all of the same FROM A WEB PAGE. WebHID should be all that's needed for advanced input devices. If you want some sort of per-program profile switching, sure, release a dedicated app that handles sending a special HID command sequence to trigger a profile switch.

[deleted]

Re: Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboards, mice, and other devices

#112

Post by drdaeman »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #89
kdmtctl wrote: post #86

I'd love to see this ported to Mac. Just discovered the bloody AI prompt builder enabled by default in my mouse driver today. After patiently declining input recording permission for months. Managed to get rid of the most of bloatware using their corporate "Offline" version which supposedly doesn't phone home and doesn't ask for extra permissions. YMMV. https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/articles/11570501236119-Lo...

At least it's not actual spyware. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29056847 Wacom's drivers collect and send both application and window title names to them. It still does, even after all the outrage.

How on Earth they’re not sued into oblivion?

Re: Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboards, mice, and other devices

#113

Post by beAbU »

nox101 wrote: post #106
loufe wrote: post #3

I've had an MX Master mouse (the "2" for maybe 8-9 years then the "3" for 2-3 years now) and love it. Great performance, great battery life, fantastic design and feel. On Windows I definitely do not love the 150Mb program to manage it (surely sending a torrent of unnecessary telemetry data back to Logitech. I found Solaar a couple months ago after getting repeatedly frustrated with bluetooth connection issues. It rea…

IIRC I installed the Logitech software in a VM, programmed the the mouse, deleted the VM. All I wanted to do is turn off the rainbow LEDs Next time I get a new mouse I'll try Solaar.

Sadly the MX family of mousen need the Logitech Software for customisation. It's not saved on the mouse, so if Logi Options is not running the mouse operates in default state, with no custom button mappings, etc.

Re: Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboards, mice, and other devices

#114

Post by akira2501 »

throwaway314155 wrote: post #90
bayindirh wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never had Bluetooth connection issues with my Logitech hardware, but I wanted mine to work without an OS (i.e. with a Bolt receiver). Solaar handled the pairing in 30 seconds flat, and I can't be happier. The only thing is, since Bolt doesn't look like proper BT to the OS, battery levels can only be monitored from Solaar itself.

What's a Bolt receiver?

Bluetooth Low Energy with some Logitech sauce added into it. Apparently encrypted and marketed for use in contexts where FIPS level security would be required.

Re: Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboards, mice, and other devices

#115

Post by pparanoidd »

kdmtctl wrote: post #86

I'd love to see this ported to Mac. Just discovered the bloody AI prompt builder enabled by default in my mouse driver today. After patiently declining input recording permission for months. Managed to get rid of the most of bloatware using their corporate "Offline" version which supposedly doesn't phone home and doesn't ask for extra permissions. YMMV. https://support.logi.com/hc/en-us/articles/11570501236119-Lo...

"Mac Mouse Fix" or "Better Mouse" does everything I need on my MX Master 3S

Re: Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboards, mice, and other devices

#116

Post by burnt_toast »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #91
pxc wrote: post #67

Is there anything like this on Windows? Logitech mice are mostly nice, but one of their major flaws is that their macro capability is not onboard but requires some kind of supplemental software like this, so even just binding a single button to multiple keystrokes as a chord is not possible without G-Hub. Linux has stuff like Solaar and Piper/libratbagd, which is great. For macOS, it looks like SteerMouse does quite…

Their major flaw is that they purposefully use shitty switches that fail, sometimes within months. This is true even with their absurdly overpriced gaming mice. I have never had a mouse whose buttons failed until I bought a logitech. Every person I know raves about them until you ask them how many they've had to buy.

Semi-agree. I've had 2 mx525s fail within ~6 months of purchase but I've also had a mx anywhere 2s that I bought used and got 3 years of usage out of it before I had to replace the switches.

I wouldn't buy a cheap mouse from them again.

Re: Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboards, mice, and other devices

#117

Post by brokenmachine »

RonaldDump wrote: post #71
eikenberry wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All of those should be state changes in the mouse.. IE. the software should run to make the settings then exit. There should be no reason for it to keep running.

Their best feature - and the one thing that I have most missed for years after moving to Linux - is automatically changing the active mouse profile based on the focused application . It's so powerful. Any custom buttons for any program, without ever having to think about it. On Linux, without it, I'm stuck manually cycling through the 3 on-board profiles.

I use Autohotkey in Windows to achieve that, because I got sick of Logitech fairly regularly misdetecting the current application (when it does that, you have to focus a different app and then try again).

I just get the mouse to always use the same onboard profile and send the higher F-keys that aren't on the keyboard (F13-F24), and ahk detects those and does whatever crazy stuff I can think up. I even have long-press/short-press for some buttons set up. Works great.

There must be a way to do something similar in Linux.

Re: Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboards, mice, and other devices

#118

Post by bb88 »

RussianCow wrote: post #101
shiroiushi wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For even more credit, they should leave all the extra telemetry and other crap out of the download, so it's only a megabyte or so, instead of 150MB, and let people opt-in to downloading that junk.

You're assuming most of that space is taken up by telemetry software. 100MB of that could easily just be the UI toolkit!

What's wrong with using the UI the OS provides?

Re: Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboards, mice, and other devices

#119

Post by nosrepa »

Brian_K_White wrote: post #68
prmoustache wrote: post #8

Pardon my ignorance but why would you need an app to manage keyboards and mice in the first place? Aren't they supported out of the box by generic drivers?

No, all features are not exposed by the generic drivers. And the extra features aren't just "who cares" goofy things. For instance, my mouse has a wheel which is also the middle button. To press the middle mouse button, you click the wheel as if it were a button. It also has another little middle button right in line with the wheel. That other button does not generate any scan codes or hid events. All that button doe…

G502

Re: Solaar is a Linux manager for many Logitech keyboards, mice, and other devices

#120

Post by SparkyMcUnicorn »

beAbU wrote: post #113
nox101 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC I installed the Logitech software in a VM, programmed the the mouse, deleted the VM. All I wanted to do is turn off the rainbow LEDs Next time I get a new mouse I'll try Solaar.

Sadly the MX family of mousen need the Logitech Software for customisation. It's not saved on the mouse, so if Logi Options is not running the mouse operates in default state, with no custom button mappings, etc.

I've used the logitech g305 for at least 6 years now, and thankfully that one lets you write a profile to the chip on the mouse.
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