Another Newbie Question - Trackballs..

[cabasner]

Hi all,

One more stupid PC to Mac question. While I've done a bunch of searches on the forum I've not found the answer to this one... I understand that many mice/trackballs can be used on the Mac. I think that may be one area that I'll just have to keep from my PC days; hopefully, there is Mac compatible Logitech Cordless Optical TrackMan, my pointer of choice!

What I have not yet understood, though, is how the Mac deals with multi button mice/trackballs. In Windows, for example, a right click often brings up a context sensitive drop down menu, which I have found to be very useful. Since the Mac does not have a 'native' 'right' and 'left' hand click capability, I was wondering how those buttons are interpreted by the Mac. I understand that some of those functions appear to be duplicated in the Mac by depressing an Options, Control or Apple key in conjunction with the single click on the Apple mouse. Would a right and left click be the equivalent of a combined Control-click, Option-click or Apple key-click? Sorry for the silly questions, but it's kind of a critical question for me...

 

[homerjward]

mac os x does natively support right clicking. it's just done as ctrl+click on one button mouse
but wrt your trackball, have you tried plugging it into your mac? assuming it's usb it should be fine.

 

[g^3]

based on my experience all 2 or more button mice will work properly on macs. ie....if you right click a drop down menu will appear. btw make sure the mouse has a usb and not a ps2 connection. hope that helps.

 

[Clix Pix]

An avid right-clicker and scroller here...

I, too, had wondered about the whole thing with the Apple one-click mouse and the new "Mighty Mouse." When I bought my new iMac I also bought the Mighty Mouse, too, because at the moment I've still got the WIN XP Pro PC set up with its wireless mouse and keyboard and I don't have a handy USB two-button mouse to just plug in to the new machine.... When I first set up the new iMac, I went ahead and used the standard one-button mouse that comes with it and was pleasantly surprised that it was not as awkward or cumbersome as I'd thought. Once I had things rolling, then I installed the software for the Mighty Mouse and plugged that into the computer. So far, I'm very pleased with the way this little guy works and the two-button functionality. Yes, when you right-click on the Mac, it's a bit different sometimes than a right-click in any Windows program, but usually in the Mac there is some way of performing a specific function which may be easier, more intuitive than that right-click or at a given time the right-click may do exactly what you need. I'm very satisfied with the "Mighty Mouse" and don't feel a need to go out and buy another mouse in its stead. However, that said, I will also go on to state that whenever the BT wireless set of keyboard and mouse finally includes a Mighty Mouse, I'll be one of the first in line at the store!

--OTB

 

[reberto]

based on my experience all 2 or more button mice will work properly on macs. ie....if you right click a drop down menu will appear. btw make sure the mouse has a usb and not a ps2 connection. hope that helps.

Or if it is PS/2, get a PS/2 to USB adapter.

 

[matticus008]

Or if it is PS/2, get a PS/2 to USB adapter.

That's probably not going to work. Unless the mouse originally came with both USB and PS2 support, a PS2 mouse won't natively work on a USB connection. Macs won't understand most older PS2 mice, even if you do reshape the connection so that it fits in a USB port.

It's much more common to see a USB to PS2 adapter, which usually works pretty well on just about anything, but going the other way is not smooth sailing.

 

[asherman13]

my recommendation: go to your local apple store or compusa and play around with the mighty mouse, and its 4 (i think) buttons: left, right, squeeze, and trackball. that will hopefully answer your questions. if it doesn't, i'm sure some ready and willing mac genius at the store will be glad to answer any more questions you might have

 

[bousozoku]

I've been using Logitech Trackman Marble for years with my Macs. They work quite well but only the latest has scroll buttons in place of a scroll wheel. In a way, these are more useful because they can be configured to handle other functions using the Logitech software. The right click works just as well as it does using Windows.

 

[iEdd]

Just out of curiosity, why does a trackball need to be cordless? I mean doesn't it just sit on the desk?

 

[cabasner]

Thanks to all who answered. I had a spare USB trackball that I plugged into the borrowed iMac G5 that I've got, and it does indeed seem to work okay, including right click. So I'm glad that that option does exist. I am going to take the advice to try some of the other options, though, including the mighty mouse...I'm going to an Apple store today and will give it a shot.

To epepper9, the answer is that it's just one less cord on the desk.

 

[ElectricSheep]

If you want a little more flexibility on how your trackball behaves, consider using USB Overdrive.

 

[Aliquis]

I didn't see anyone suggest USB overdrive. (although I may have missed it)

It's a system preferences pane that allows you to configure almost (if not all) any input device.

go to macupdate.com and search for it in their search tab.

 

[matticus008]

I didn't see anyone suggest USB overdrive. (although I may have missed it)

It's a system preferences pane that allows you to configure almost (if not all) any input device.

go to macupdate.com and search for it in their search tab.

It's right above your post...

Missed it, indeed.

 

[Aliquis]

haha, oops. Well, it does work as others have pointed out then.