Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bu-cs!polygen!pablo
From: pablo@polygen.uucp (Pablo Halpern)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: 1 vs 3 button mice issue
Message-ID: <125@polygen.UUCP>
Date: 14 Mar 88 23:31:56 GMT
References: <4129@hoptoad.uucp> <283@rhesus.primate.wisc.edu> <1710@ssc-vax.UUCP> <14458@oddjob.UChicago.EDU> <1739@ssc-vax.UUCP> <4737@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU>
Reply-To: pablo@polygen.UUCP (Pablo Halpern)
Organization: Polygen Corporation, Waltham, MA
Lines: 24

In article <4737@sdcsvax.UCSD.EDU> borton@net1.UUCP (Chris Borton) writes:
>Would it be possible to add a three-button mouse to the Mac interface?  The
>hardware would be simple enough with ADB, I believe.  The key to this would be
>defining in the semi-usual-Apple way an interface that would function like
>Color QuickDraw -- let the old stuff work like normal, and IF the new function
>is there THEN take advantage of it.

I like the idea of adding a two- or three-button mouse to the Mac but
WITHOUT changing the mac interface.  The way I see it, the best use of the
extra buttons would be as accelerators.  E.g., the left button would be
the same as the one-button mouse button; the middle button would be the
same as a shifted-button; the right button would be the same as command-button
or option-button.  The default mapping would be set in the control panel.
In addition, a resource could be added to an application file to override
the default if that application uses, say, option-click more than
command-click.  By using the extra buttons as short-cuts only, you prevent
the developement of software that REQUIRES a multi-button mouse.  I, for
one, like the one-button mouse but would go for a three-button mouse
if the software interface were as I have just described.

Pablo Halpern		|	mit-eddie \
Polygen Corp.		|	princeton  \ !polygen!pablo  (UUCP)
200 Fifth Ave.		|	bu-cs      /
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