It’s been a few days since I got my new Apple Mighty Mouse. Aside from the occasional needless Control key press and the accidental Scroll Bar click (I have a heavy finger), it’s almost a familiar friend by now. I’ve had two-button scrolling mice before, so it hasn’t been too difficult to make use of the buttons and Scroll Ball button (I have them set to Primary and Secondary Buttons, with the Scroll Button launching Dashboard). But I can’t decide on the best use of that “bonus” fourth button (actually, the two side buttons together make a fourth button). Here are a couple of ideas:
At first, I used the side buttons to display the Desktop with Exposé. But it wasn’t that useful. If I wanted to show the Desktop to move a file, I still had to press F11 after clicking on the file I wanted to move in order to show the Finder again.
I changed the settings so the side buttons would show the Application Switcher. That seemed like a pretty good idea. I tend to have several applications running at the same time and, while I haven’t really made much use of the Application Switcher before, I thought this might be a timesaver. You can scroll through the open applications with the mouse (though you’ll still need to mouse over to click the application you want to switch to, or hit the Return key).
You can also assign any application to a mouse button. I thought about using it to open Mail. Currently, I have the side buttons assigned to a simple Applescript that opens the Color Picker, but you could create any script or Automator workflow (be sure to save them as applications) and assign it to a button.
To open a freestanding Apple Color Picker, type
choose colorin Script Editor and save the file as an application. Now, assign the mouse button to run this application. You can also download the Choose Color application here.
But I’m curious: how are you using the side buttons of the Mighty Mouse? Do you have a good script idea, something that the average person would use often enough to assign to a mouse button? Any ideas?
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13 Responses to “Apple Mighty Mouse’s Fourth Button?”
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August 9th, 2005 at 8:11 am
I just set the side buttons to activate Deja Menu so one gets the active / current applications menu anywhere on screen. Robert, perfect for your 30inch cinema display! (posting this from Apple Store Regent Street ;-)
August 9th, 2005 at 9:01 am
Dev, that was a great suggestion! I had DejaMenu installed prior to Tiger, but I didn’t use it very much and forgot all about it. But it makes perfect sense to attach it to a mouse button. I’ve attached it to the Scroll Ball button and moved the Dashboard to the side buttons. Thanks!
Anyone else? Other suggestions?
August 9th, 2005 at 10:15 am
Robert, wouldn’t it be great if the scroll wheel could work in menu’s as well. Is that possible? Am I missing the obvious?
August 9th, 2005 at 10:28 am
No, I don’t think you’re missing anything obvious. The scroll ball doesn’t seem to work in menus. But it’s strange. I can scroll through some of my history in Safari, but only a few items in either direction. I can’t scroll through my bookmarks, or in any of the other menus. My old macally mouse doesn’t scroll in any menus.
August 9th, 2005 at 11:47 am
I’ve heard of reported problems with mighty mouse and windows XP as well as OS X and firefox. Still look great to me.
http://www.tigercompatible.com ; find out if your apps are tiger compatible.
August 9th, 2005 at 4:39 pm
kflip, I haven’t had any problems with the Mighty Mouse under OS X 10.4.2 Tiger. No problems with Firefox. I haven’t tried it with a PC, but I’m running Windows XP on Virtual PC and the Mighty Mouse works without any problems.
Anyone else have anything to report?
August 10th, 2005 at 12:14 pm
Robert, good to hear. I have no direct experience with it. There are so many iterations of system setups with XP (I’m a mac user btw) that I cna imagine some conflicts with some systems, but on the whole I imagine it is mostly smooth sailing.
August 25th, 2005 at 4:14 pm
i made that extra button execute a basic app. to skip iTunes to the next song. It skips the song and returns you back to whatever you were doing before. but i need something better. more useful.
November 9th, 2005 at 11:04 am
Great site and great tips guys! I just discovered that I can use the fourth button for the application switcher in a more useful way that doesn’t require clicking or pressing enter. Just squeeze AND HOLD the fourth button to open the application switcher, then move the cursor to the program you want to switch to, and release the side buttons – no clicking required!
Hope this helps,
Mike
November 9th, 2005 at 11:33 am
Thanks for the suggestion, Mike. I tried that for a while, but now I use the side buttons to show the Dashboard. I have a few widgets going that I check regularly.
March 6th, 2006 at 7:02 pm
I have used a five button trackball before and loved it. Now, on my new iMac, it does not function properly. I am trying to use the mighty mouse, but one feature I really love is pressing a button and moving back one window when surfing the net. It is annoying, and slow, to have to use the arrow in the upper left of the window. Is there any way to program the mighty mouse to do that in one click?
March 7th, 2006 at 11:31 am
Sorry, Larry, I don’t know of a way to do what you want to do. Anyone else have any ideas?
March 7th, 2006 at 7:55 pm
i just realized that the delete button on the keyboard acts as a command to go back one window. not as good as using a button on the mouse, but it works.