btnx: Send keyboard and mouse combination events with mouse buttons

[daou]

If you find this tool useful, please help others use it by translating it into another language: btnx-config @ Launchpad.

Latest versions:

• btnx-0.4.11 - ChangeLog
• btnx-config-0.4.9 - ChangeLog

btnx (Button Extension) is a daemon that enables rerouting of mouse button events through uinput as keyboard and other mouse button combinations. For example, you can configure an extra mouse button to send a Ctrl+Alt+Right command to switch workspaces. You can also configure buttons to execute commands. This is especially useful for mice with more buttons than Gnome or KDE can properly handle, or mice that need evdev and a 100 step howto to register button events at all.

btnx-config is GUI for detecting and configuring your mouse. You must use btnx-config with btnx. btnx integrates revoco functionality for MX Revolution users, which is editable from btnx-config.

btnx should work with almost any mouse that is configured properly.

The btnx manual is available at: http://www.ollisalonen.com/btnx/man
btnx is known to work on:

• (K)Ubuntu 7.04
• (K)Ubuntu 7.10
• (K)Ubuntu 8.04

Note: Users with an MX or VX Revolution: if you have problems with the thumb buttons, refer to the btnx manual's troubleshooting section 12.2.1 for better xorg.conf values.

Report bugs at Launchpad:

• http://launchpad.net/btnx
• http://launchpad.net/btnx-config/

SVN repositories :

• btnx: http://svn.ollisalonen.com/btnx/
• btnx-config: http://svn.ollisalonen.com/btnx-config/
  

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Installation:

You have two options. Either install (1) binary packages with apt-get or (2) compile from source.

Note: If you have used another howto to configure your mouse, try to revert as much of the changes you have done.

1. Binary packages:

Note: KDE (Kubuntu) users should compile from source if you want to avoid installing lots of standard Gnome libraries.

1. Put the following lines to the end of your /etc/apt/sources.list file, but replace DISTRO with the name of the Ubuntu distro you have installed (options: feisty gutsy hardy):

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/daou/ubuntu DISTRO main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/daou/ubuntu DISTRO main

2. Now, run the following commands to install btnx and btnx-config:

$ sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install btnx

3. Run btnx-config from Applications->System tools->btnx and refer to the manual as necessary.

2. (Optional) Compile from source

1. Get all the necessary dependencies. btnx-config needs libgtk2.0 and libgtk2.0-dev (version 2.10.11 or newer), libglade and libglade-dev (version 2.6.0 or newer), pkg-config (0.21 or newer), and build-essential. btnx needs build-essential and libdaemon.

sudo apt-get install build-essential libgtk2.0-0 libgtk2.0-dev libglade2-0 libglade2-dev pkg-config libdaemon0 libdaemon-dev

2. Install btnx

$ wget http://www.ollisalonen.com/btnx/btnx-0.4.11.tar.gz
$ tar -xvvf btnx-0.4.11.tar.gz
$ cd btnx-0.4.11
$ ./configure
$ make
$ sudo make install

3. Install btnx-config.

$ wget http://www.ollisalonen.com/btnx/btnx-config-0.4.9.tar.gz
$ tar -xvvf btnx-config-0.4.9.tar.gz
$ cd btnx-config-0.4.9
$ ./configure
$ make
$ sudo make install

If you encountered an error, there is probably a dependency problem.

4. You should have gotten a menu item. In GNOME, Applications->System tools->btnx. In KDE, System->btnx. Press it to launch btnx-config.

You can find all the necessary information for configuring your mouse with btnx-config in the btnx manual. Either press the "Help" button in btnx-config or refer to the online manual at http://www.ollisalonen.com/btnx/man

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Uninstall

Binary packages:

Run

$sudo apt-get remove btnx btnx-config

Compiled source:

To uninstall btnx and btnx-config, run

$ sudo make uninstall

in the same directory as where you ran the "sudo make install" command for both programs.

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Troubleshooting

Please refer to the troubleshooting section in the btnx manual: http://www.ollisalonen.com/btnx/man

It contains answers to frequent problems and good reference values for your xorg.conf file.

NOTE: If some of your mouse buttons send multiple events (like extra middle, right, or left clicks) then refer to the
manual's troubleshooting section on editing you xorg.conf InputSection. Follow it closely!

If your problem persists, post it on this thread.

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Useful key combos

blazoner posted a list of some useful keyboard combinations to use with btnx. Look here.

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If you feel that btnx or extra mouse button control is an important issue, don't forget to let your vote and voice be heard over at Brainstorm:

[daou]

btnx discussion has been moved here from the MX Revolution howto.

you got my vote to get btnx in kubuntu gutsy as a standard once it comes out - Mack1

Thanks . But I think btnx will need to support a few more mice before that will come into consideration.

MX-510 will be added later today. Thanks to sjust for the hexdumping.

I just bought an MX Revolution today, and I can't seem to get btnx to make any difference whatsoever... Maybe I'm doing something wrong...? - Bedpan.ca

Are you running the latest version (at this time 0.2.3)? If you are, did you change the default configurations? If you did, try copying the mx revolution defaults over the btnx_config file:

$ sudo cp /etc/btnx/defaults/default_config_mxrevo /etc/btnx/btnx_config
$ sudo /etc/init.d/btnx restart

If it still doesn't work try stopping btnx and running it as a foreground process on the command line. This way you can see any error output.

$ sudo /etc/init.d/btnx stop
$ sudo /usr/sbin/btnx

Tell me what happens.

[daou]

Support added for Logitech MX-510 in version 0.2.4. Thanks to sjust for submitting the hexdumps.

sjust: If you already configured Ubuntu to use the extra buttons on your MX-510 with, for example, detyabozhye's guide, you should probably disable the settings so you won't get duplicate events. btnx cannot stop any events from happening that X already handles. This is not a must, you can try running btnx with the old settings intact.

[sjust]

I am glad I did everything right, and it helped. yes I have used his guide to configure my mouse. I will disable what I can remember and give btnx a shot. I will post back with the resualts

[Bedpan.ca]

Originally Posted by daou Tell me what happens.

Did what you said, and still no dice.
When ran as a foreground process, it says "No startup errors".
Tried the latest 0.2.4 just in case something was different, but again, the mouse does nothing other than the default mousey functions (plus scroll wheel and the stupid backwards sideways scroll wheel tilt).

I'm running 64bit Feisty.

[daou]

I'm running 64bit Feisty.

This could be a problem because btnx looks at raw data streams that are likely bitsize-dependent.

If you have the time, could you do the part "How to get support for mouse X?". If it turns out that the stream lengths are just a little different for 64-bit streams, I can easily add support for 64-bit systtems. EDIT: not necessary anymore.

If not, then it gets more difficult.

[daou]

I'm running 64bit Feisty.

btnx-0.2.5 adds support for 64-bit versions. Installed the AMD64 version on a different partition and looked at the event handlers. As I suspected, the amount of data going to the event handlers during each event grew by 16 bytes. btnx now uses a better algorithm to calculate the rawcodes which is bit-independent.

[Bedpan.ca]

Originally Posted by daou btnx-0.2.5 adds support for 64-bit versions.

Freaking. Awesome.
You are now my hero as well.
Sweet deals.

[Bedpan.ca]

Okay. This one is weird. I've noticed that if I have Konsole open, my mouse will sometime TYPE on its own a capital letter C.
The same is done when scrolling right (left is D).

Also, sometimes if I'm browsing with firefox, the page will sometimes jump backwards in history by itself.

Not sure if this is because of btnx, or a faulty mouse.

Ideas?

[daou]

Okay. This one is weird. I've noticed that if I have Konsole open, my mouse will sometime TYPE on its own a capital letter C. The same is done when scrolling right (left is D). Also, sometimes if I'm browsing with firefox, the page will sometimes jump backwards in history by itself. Not sure if this is because of btnx, or a faulty mouse.

Not a faulty mouse. It sounds like btnx is just doing its magic. If you haven't changed btnx's default configuration for MX Revo mice, pressing the top wheel left and right sends ALT+LEFT and ALT+RIGHT signals. In Firefox it goes back and forward in page history. In a terminal, it outputs a C and D.

It's quite easy to accidentally press the wheel sideways when trying to scroll up and down on the MX Revo. It took me a while to get used to it. Don't use any force when scrolling the MX Revo wheel. It's meant to be touched lightly. It's not a normal, crude mouse wheel, after all .

If it seems annoying, you can disable the wheel tilts from doing anything in the btnx_config file by commenting it's button section out.