<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.9"> <TITLE>The 3 Button Serial Mouse mini-HOWTO: Introduction </TITLE> <LINK HREF="3-Button-Mouse-3.html" REL=next> <LINK HREF="3-Button-Mouse-1.html" REL=previous> <LINK HREF="3-Button-Mouse.html#toc2" REL=contents> </HEAD> <BODY> <A HREF="3-Button-Mouse-3.html">Next</A> <A HREF="3-Button-Mouse-1.html">Previous</A> <A HREF="3-Button-Mouse.html#toc2">Contents</A> <HR> <H2><A NAME="s2">2. Introduction </A></H2> <P>The most recent version of this document can always be found at <A HREF="http://kipper.york.ac.uk/mouse.html">http://kipper.york.ac.uk/mouse.html</A><P>There is a Japanese translation at <A HREF="http://jf.gee.kyoto-u.ac.jp/JF/JF-ftp/euc/3-Button-Mouse.euc">http://jf.gee.kyoto-u.ac.jp/JF/JF-ftp/euc/3-Button-Mouse.euc</A>; and a French one at <A HREF="http://www.freenix.fr/linux/HOWTO/mini/3-Button-Mouse.html">http://www.freenix.fr/linux/HOWTO/mini/3-Button-Mouse.html</A>. Other translations may be available - check your local LDP mirrors. <P> <P>Most X applications are written with the assumption that the user will be working with a 3 button mouse. Serial mice are commonly used on computers and are cheap to buy. Many of these mice have 3 buttons and claim to use the Microsoft protocol, which in theory means they are ideal for the X windows setup. (The record for the cheapest working 3 button mouse currently stands at $1.14!) <P> <P>Most dual-protocol mice will work in two modes: <UL> <LI>2-button Microsoft mode.</LI> <LI>3-button MouseSystems mode.</LI> </UL> This document leads you through the different steps needed to configure your mouse in these two different modes, especially the steps needed to use the more useful 3-button mode. <P> <P>As distributions become easier to set up, some of the problems ought to go away. For instance, RedHat have a <CODE>mouseconfig</CODE> program to set things up for you. However, some versions of RH5.0 had a bug in <CODE>mouseconfig</CODE>, so make sure you check for patches. <P> <HR> <A HREF="3-Button-Mouse-3.html">Next</A> <A HREF="3-Button-Mouse-1.html">Previous</A> <A HREF="3-Button-Mouse.html#toc2">Contents</A> </BODY> </HTML>