Overview of Mouse Types

Support knowledgebase (cg_mausallg)
Applies to

SuSE Linux: All versions

Situation:

You want to configure your mouse for the graphical interface, but you do not know what mouse type to select in SaX or xf86config.

Procedure:

Depending on the port used, mice and trackballs can be divided into 4 groups:

PS/2 and USB mice

In the case of PS/2 mice and USB mice, there are basically two mouse types which only differ from each other in the deployed protocol. They use the interface /dev/psaux (PS/2 mice) or /dev/usbmouse (USB mice). Set this interface accordingly.

Serial Mice

These are not as easy to configure as PS/2 mice because of the broad range of available protocols. However, virtually all serial mice support a plug-and-play mode and the Microsoft mouse protocol.

All modern serial mice support a plug-and-play mode and can be used with the protocol Auto. Therefore, if you are not completely sure of your serial mouse, select the type "Auto" and the right interface, which is usually /dev/ttyS0 (if you use the interface COM1 with DOS/Windows).

If the serial mouse does not work with this setting, try the protocol Microsoft for 2 or 3 button mice. If the mouse works properly with this setting, select the emulation mode for the third button:

If the serial mouse is a wheel mouse -- a mouse with two buttons and one or more wheels -- that does not work with the protocol "Auto", try the protocol Intellimouse. The wheel function can be applied by configuring the program imwheel.

Inport and Other Specific Mice

To configure this type of mouse, proceed as described in the file /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc/README.mouse, which also contains configuration instructions for very old mice.
Keywords: MICE, MOUSE, TYPE, X11, GPM, PS2, USB, SERIAL

SDB-cg_mausallg, Copyright SuSE Linux AG, Nürnberg, Germany - Version: 28. Mai 2001
SuSE Linux AG - Last generated: 25. Jun 2002 by ubrueck (sdb_gen 1.40.0)