Published Aug 19, 2024, 11:00 AM EDT
Lando has been a freelance Productivity writer at MakeUseOf since 2021. From the early days of Windows Vista, he has cultivated a deep-rooted passion for technology and consistently navigated the evolving tech landscape, embracing everything from Android and iOS devices with impartial curiosity. Lando’s interest isn’t tethered to brand loyalty but driven by a desire to utilize each technology for its unique strengths.
His fascination with productivity software stems from a relentless pursuit of efficiency—finding innovative ways to achieve more in less time. This passion is a personal mantra and extends into his professional expertise, where he blends tech savviness with digital marketing strategies to create impactful content and campaigns.
Since beginning his writing journey in 2018 as part of the digital marketing team at Xanda in London, Lando has become a trusted source of tech advice. He is often approached by peers for insights on the latest tech trends and tools. Committed to staying abreast of new advancements, he continues to enrich his knowledge through continuous learning and active participation in tech discussions.
In addition to pursuing a degree in computer science, Lando enjoys traveling and gaming outside of work, particularly on his favourite console, the PS5.
Jump Links
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How to Install and Use the Mac Mouse Fix App
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Using Mac Mouse Fix to Add Trackpad Gestures
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Using Mac Mouse Fix to Assign Custom Actions
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Using Mac Mouse Fix to Improve the Scrolling Experience
Summary
- The Mac Mouse Fix app lets you add trackpad gestures and custom actions to your third-party mouse.
- You can assign keyboard shortcuts, improve the scrolling smoothness, and change the scrolling direction of your mouse using this app.
- Mac Mouse Fix costs $2.99 after a 30-day free trial.
It's no secret that most third-party mice don't work well with Macs. But if you don't want to use the built-in trackpad or splurge on Apple's expensive Magic Mouse, the Mac Mouse Fix App can improve your experience with a third-party mouse on macOS.
How to Install and Use the Mac Mouse Fix App
Mac Mouse Fix is a handy app that adds Mac trackpad gestures like Smart Zoom, Mission Control, Launchpad, and more. It also lets you add various custom actions for your mouse buttons and scroll wheel, allowing you to personalize your mouse experience. You can even use Mac Mouse Fix to improve the scrolling smoothness or reverse the scrolling direction of any mouse (independently from your trackpad).
Download: Mac Mouse Fix ($2.99, free trial available)
Once you've downloaded the app using the link above, follow these steps:
- Double-click the downloaded file and follow the installation wizard to complete the installation.
- Toggle the Enable Mac Mouse Fix switch.
- Now, you'll get a pop-up to allow the app to make changes. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility and toggle on the switch next to Mac Mouse Fix.
- Lastly, check the Show in Menu Bar box in the Mac Mouse Fix window.
After setting up your third-party mouse on your Mac, you can use Mac Mouse Fix to customize your mouse experience. The app offers an intuitive interface where you can easily assign different gestures and actions to your mouse buttons and scroll wheel.
The app is free for 30 days; after that, you must pay a one-time fee of $2.99. It works well with standard third-party mice with three buttons and more advanced ones with side buttons. However, note that having more mouse buttons means more customization options.
Using Mac Mouse Fix to Add Trackpad Gestures
One of the pros of buying Apple's Magic Mouse is that it supports most Mac gestures, such as Mission Control or swiping between pages and full-screen apps. However, you can use Mac Mouse Fix to add these Mac trackpad gestures to any third-party mouse. Here's how:
- Open Mac Mouse Fix from the menu bar or do a Spotlight Search.
- Click the Buttons tab to assign Mac trackpad gestures to your mouse buttons.
- You will find some default gestures already assigned to the mouse buttons. Click the Restore Defaults button in the bottom-right corner of the window to select the default settings for a standard mouse with three buttons or those for five buttons and more.
- If you don't like the default settings, click the dropdown menu next to an action and select a preferred gesture to assign it to the action.
For example, I use Click and Drag for Spaces & Mission Control. This works like swiping with three fingers on the trackpad, that is:
- Hold the middle button (the scroll wheel) and move the mouse up for Mission Control.
- Hold the middle button and move the mouse down for App Exposé.
- Hold the middle button and move left or right to swipe between full-screen applications.
As hinted above, you can bring most Mac trackpad gestures to your third-party mouse. The only limitation is the number of buttons on your mouse.
Using Mac Mouse Fix to Assign Custom Actions
Adding built-in features like trackpad gestures to your third-party mouse certainly makes navigating your Mac faster. But why stop there? Mac Mouse Fix lets you assign custom actions to your mouse buttons. This means you can do anything you would use keyboard shortcuts for, like taking screenshots, typing em dashes easily on your Mac, copying and pasting text, and more.
Here's how to use the Mac Mouse Fix app to assign useful Mac keyboard shortcuts:
- Open the Mac Mouse Fix app and go to the Buttons tab.
- Move your mouse pointer over the + sign and click the mouse button to which you want to assign a custom action.
- Select Keyboard Shortcut at the bottom of the list and type the keyboard shortcut you want to assign.
Note that you can't use the left and right mouse buttons. So, if you have a standard three-button mouse, you can only use the scroll wheel. However, you're not restricted to one action, i.e., clicking the middle button (scroll wheel). You can hold (long-press), double-click, triple-click, or hold and drag. For example, here are some custom actions I added to my mouse:
- Click the middle button to paste and match the text style (Shift + Option + Cmd + V)
- Hold the scroll wheel to take a screenshot (Shift + Cmd + 3)
- Double-click the middle button to type an em dash (Option + Shift + -)
One downside to using a third-party mouse on a Mac is the sub-par scrolling experience compared to an Apple Magic Mouse or trackpad. However, you can use the Mac Mouse Fix app to improve this:
- Go to the Scrolling tab in the Mac Mouse Fix app.
- Select High in the Smoothness menu dropdown for a more responsive scrolling experience.
In addition, you can use Mac Mouse Fix to separate scroll directions for a mouse and trackpad on your Mac. This is useful because Mac trackpads use Natural Scrolling by default, where swiping up scrolls the page down. While this is intuitive when using the trackpad, it feels unnatural when using a mouse scroll wheel—there's no built-in option to change this.
Here's how to use Mac Mouse Fix to change the mouse scrolling direction (and not the trackpad):
- Go to the Scrolling tab in the Mac Mouse Fix app.
- Check the box next to Reverse Direction.
Lastly, you can use and customize keyboard modifiers in Mac Mouse Fix to perform various actions when scrolling with your mouse. For example:
- Hold Shift while scrolling to scroll horizontally.
- Hold Cmd while scrolling to zoom.
- Hold Option while scrolling to scroll precisely.
- Hold Ctrl while scrolling to scroll swiftly.
Change these modifier keys by clicking the X button next to the option and selecting your preferred key.
Overall, Mac Mouse Fix is a handy tool that can significantly improve your experience with third-party mice on a Mac. So, instead of buying the expensive Apple Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad, try this app with your current mouse and see how it works for you.