[TriLUG] third mouse button

[Daniel T. Chen]

On Sun, 25 Nov 2001, Richard O. Hammer wrote:

> What's the use of the third mouse button?

Traditionally it's a faster paste [in X, also with gpm in console]. This
is not set in stone, however.

> When I started using Linux earlier this year, I made it a
> point to buy a three-button mouse.  I had the impression that
> was standard in the Unix world.  But I think I've never seen
> an application yet which called for that third button.

Depends on the machine's function. For instance, if you use XFree86,
certain window managers assign additional functionality to however the
third button is defined.

> Would I be cutting myself off from some important future
> functionality if I set up a Linux system with only a
> two-button mouse?

Not at all. For instance, if you intend to use X, you can map a click of
both buttons to emulate a third one. The X manpage has more info.

---
Dan Chen                 crimsun at email.unc.edu
GPG key: www.cs.unc.edu/~chenda/pubkey.gpg.asc