Bug#281504: [FAQ] More information for left-handed X user
I would like to submit to you a new version of the proposed text. This
text was containing errors.
The new version is based on what could be found in
/usr/share/doc/xserver-xfree86/NEWS.Debian.gz as suggested by
Aaron M. Ucko <ucko@debian.org> (thanks!) in
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=281518
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How do I set up the mouse buttons for left-handed use?
Thanks to "ulisses" for suggesting this question for the FAQ, and
providing some of the information given.
Use one of the following command depending on how many buttons
your mouse has.
xmodmap -e "pointer = 2 1" (for two-button mice)
xmodmap -e "pointer = 3 2 1" (for three-button mice)
xmodmap -e "pointer = 3 2 1 4 5" (for three-button + wheel mice)
Note that the 4 and 5 buttons represent the wheel up and down actions
and thus should not be modified.
To have the pointer buttons remapped for all of your X sessions, add the
following line to your $HOME/.Xmodmap file (creating the file if
necessary):
pointer = 2 1 (for two-button mice)
pointer = 3 2 1 (for three-button mice)
pointer = 3 2 1 4 5 (for three-button + wheel mice)
and call xmodmap $HOME/.Xmodmap from your $HOME/.xsession file. Note,
however, that the system administrator can configure the X Window System
such that users' .xsession files in their $HOME directories are ignored.
See the Xsession.options(5) manual page for more information.
For more information about xmodmap, see xmodmap(1x).
This xmodmap approach for setting a left-handed mouse only works for the
XFree86 3.x series. It produces bad behaviors (button confusion) when
used for the XFree86 4.x series. If you are running a XFree86 4.x
series, you should use the gpm approach.
The following information is courtesy of Osamu Aoki.
The gpm approach is to feed X with the mouse data coming from gpm, a cut
and paste utility and mouse server for virtual consoles. The gpm utility
is of interest here because it can be configured to handle left-handed
mouse. This approach as the drawback that all the users of the system
have to share the same gpm configuration, while with xmodmap every user
could have his own .Xmodmap file.
To use the gpm approach, two files need to be modified. The provided
configuration is for a Logitech three-button + wheel mouse. One can
easily adapt this configuration by changing "device", "type" and "Option
Protocol" according to the type of the mouse you are using.
/etc/gpm.conf
-------------
device=/dev/input/mice
repeat_type=ms3
type=imps2
append='-B 321'
/etc/X11/XF86Config-4
---------------------
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "gpm mouse"
Driver "mouse"
Option "CorePointer"
Option "Device" "/dev/gpmdata"
Option "Protocol" "IntelliMouse"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection
Note that the mouse driver in XFree86 4.3.0 has been rewritten in such a
way that using any protocol other than "IntelliMouse" on the XFree86
side and "ms3" on the GPM side does not work well. If you are using
anything other than "ms3" as the repeating protocol, you will likely
want to change it to "ms3". If XF86Config-4 file is automatically
handled by debconf and uses /dev/gpmdata as the port for the configured
mouse, the protocol will automatically be migrated to "IntelliMouse" if
necessary.
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--
Marc-Aurèle DARCHE <http://www.cynode.org/>
AFUL <http://www.aful.org/>
Association Francophone des Utilisateurs de Linux/Logiciels Libres
French speaking Linux and Libre Software Users' Association
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