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An open-source mouse and trackpad utility for Mac

linearmouse.app

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Re: An open-source mouse and trackpad utility for Mac

#111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> natural scrolling is just an awful idea for mouse users I'm the opposite - I was surprised by how much of an improvement I found natural scrolling after decades of computer use. I now use an autohotkey script when on windows to get the same behavior as I get on macOS. I can certainly see the switching cost not being worth it and wanting a setting that applies to the mouse and not the touchpad, but I'm failing to se…

> I now use an autohotkey script when on windows to get the same behavior as I get on macOS. Is there something specific here that's not just toggling the scroll direction to the right value in window's settings menu? It's had it for years at this point. > I can certainly see the switching cost not being worth it and wanting a setting that applies to the mouse and not the touchpad, but I'm failing to see how it's any…

On Windows 11, you can’t toggle the scroll wheel direction without registry edit permission. And for USB devices, there’s a unique key for every possible USB port it’s connected to.

Re: An open-source mouse and trackpad utility for Mac

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the OP, but for one thing, natural scrolling is just an awful idea for mouse users, it was designed for touch screens, and translates pretty well to trackpads (Although it broke with over a decade of user experience), but it's completely unnatural on a mouse. Unfortunately, if you're a user who switches between a mouse and the trackpad, Mac OS only let's you pick one.

> natural scrolling is just an awful idea for mouse users I'm the opposite - I was surprised by how much of an improvement I found natural scrolling after decades of computer use. I now use an autohotkey script when on windows to get the same behavior as I get on macOS. I can certainly see the switching cost not being worth it and wanting a setting that applies to the mouse and not the touchpad, but I'm failing to se…

The issue happens when you're not "switching", but co-existing across multiple platforms.

For work, I use a Mac as my daily computer, but also use Linux at home, and a ChromeOS for travel. My Mac is heavily customized to behave like my Linux desktop, but there's little hope for ChromeOS, which means all my muscle memory is gone.

I wish we'd have better standards, and at least a universal way to customize keyboard shortcuts. Unfortunately we're far away from that. Even on Mac and Linux.

Re: An open-source mouse and trackpad utility for Mac

#115
post #2

I've long looked for a good mouse utility for Mac that can disable mouse acceleration, modify scroll wheel behavior, etc. This one even saves preferences per-device which I find very useful.

I’m eager to try this out, but you might also want to check out Steermouse[1], which is a utility it took me years longer to discover than it should have. I’m not sure how it stacks up to this open source project, but it’s definitely been worth the license cost to me over the years. [1] https://plentycom.jp/en/steermouse/

I use and really like Steermouse. Would love to hear from anyone who’s test-driven the two and has thoughts on comparison.

Re: An open-source mouse and trackpad utility for Mac

#116

This is a mandatory install on macOS for me (one of many). The suite of extra software utilities required to make the base OS usable is ridiculous, but I'm glad to see open source maintainers working to keep my mouse working.

> This is a mandatory install on macOS for me Would you mind expanding on that? I'm not sure what I'd improve about my touchpad experience on my Mac.

The touchpad is probably the single best thing about Macs since ~2015. I remember going to the Apple Store and messing around with the Macbook Pro I was hooked on how responsive and useful the touchpad felt, and led me to buy one.

Re: An open-source mouse and trackpad utility for Mac

#117
post #9

This is a mandatory install on macOS for me (one of many). The suite of extra software utilities required to make the base OS usable is ridiculous, but I'm glad to see open source maintainers working to keep my mouse working.

what are your other mandatory installs?

- Karabiner-Elements, primarily to map caps lock to ctrl when pressed with other keys and escape when pressed alone, although I also like to bind right command + asdfhjkl to cursor movement keys home pgdown pgup end left down up right respectively.

- yabai/skhd for window management

- brew/mas for package management

- linearmouse to disable cursor acceleration, scroll acceleration, and inverted scroll direction for mice while keeping all those things on for trackpads.

There are other things that I install on my Macs, but these are the programs that I use to fix behavior that I find unacceptable. Additionally I maintain a script of about 50 `defaults write ...` commands so that I don't have to dig around in the settings menus of system applications to configure them to behave sanely (show file extensions and paths, don't reorder Spaces, disable autocorrect, etc).

Re: An open-source mouse and trackpad utility for Mac

#118
post #95

While we are here, is there a way to completely disable (not just reduce) the stupid, useless desktop switching animations? \o/

Yes, but it requires disabling system integrity protection. Yabai's "scripting addition" allows instant switching between spaces.

Re: An open-source mouse and trackpad utility for Mac

#120
Unpopular opinion, but I like the Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard!

I try other Mouses but always return to the Apple products.

Trying to get other Mouses to have the same acceleration and tracking as you he Magic Mouse eludes me!

The thing with the Magic Mouse is the touch sensor on top! Being able to swipe and scroll horizontally and vertically is so ingrained that I miss it when switching.

Adding a TouchID sensor to the side of the Apple Magic Mouse would be super useful!

I don’t have a Magic Keyboard with TouchID yet, so I’m constantly reaching over to MacBook keyboard. I feel like if my thumb could just connect with the TouchID sensor on the side of a Magic Mouse, there’s be a lot less friction in the security UI!

I’m inspired to also try a trackpad given the enthusiasm shown in the comments here!

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