[Novalug] Idjit question - how to open a mouse case

Ed James edward.james@gmail.com
Wed Nov 28 08:44:59 EST 2012


Just an update, with an on-topic update.  I've got an xlib program that
looks at X Window server event messages and figures out what they are.  There's
a bunch of mouse messages with ID-type numbers for the mouse button
event type.  Examples: 1 for left-mouse-button, 3 for right-mouse-button, etc.
The scroll wheel is usually 4/5 for scroll-up and scroll-down.  I'm not getting
these for the Verbatim mouse scroll wheel (all my other mouses work, so I
know it's not my programming).

However, this mouse has a scroll wheel that tilts and sends messages 6 for
tilt-left and 7 for tilt-right.  I'm guessing it's similar for a
track-ball.  Only
stumbled on it researching this particular mouse.  So...I redid my code to
treat 6 as a scroll-up and 7 as a scroll-down, so the mouse is back to being
a bit more useful.  Bit of a stretch, but there's the Linux Connection. :)

As for the fix-tips a lot of folks sent - tnx for them, and I'll give
them a try.
Out of compressed air and electronics cleaner, but I need to re-stock
anyway.  The autopsy will wait a bit until I'm done playing with the mouse.

Found an interesting feature I hadn't known about before - There's a
small button on top (usually message type 10) that doesn't send a message
that I can find, but does change the speed at which mouse-motion moves a
cursor across the screen.  Drove me crazy trying to slow the sucker down at
first, so this is a pretty handy feature.  Also, buttons 8 and 9 are described
as "programmable", but I've got no clue how they work on Windoze machines.
But that's half the fun of writing software that interfaces with
hardware - finding
uses for such features.

Ed James

On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 6:45 PM, Ed James <edward.james@gmail.com> wrote:
...
>    Way OT question here but...  I have a wired desktop laser mouse (Verbatim
> 96676, not that it matters much) that seems to have issues.  Move it, and
> the screen cursor moves.  Click the left/right buttons and "stuff happens".
> But the scroll wheel doesn't seem to work..



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