btnx Manual

This manual describes version 0.4.8 of btnx and version 0.4.8 of btnx-config.
Revision History
Revision btnx Manual 1.42008-02-04
Revision btnx Manual 1.32007-12-05
Revision btnx Manual 1.22007-11-29
Revision btnx Manual 1.12007-10-15
Revision btnx Manual 1.02007-07-18

btnx, a.k.a. Button Extension, is a program that enables you to route mouse button events as keyboard combinations and command executions. btnx-config is a GUI to used to detect your mouse and its buttons, and then edit the btnx configuration file.

This document describes the usage of btnx and btnx-config.


Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Steps to get btnx working
3. Installing from sources
3.1. Installing btnx
3.2. Installing btnx-config
3.3. Upgrading
3.4. Uninstallation
4. Running btnx-config
5. Detecting the mouse
5.1. Quick guide:
5.2. In depth guide:
6. Detecting buttons
6.1. Quick guide:
6.2. In depth guide:
7. Managing configurations
7.1. Manage configurations
7.2. Current configuration
7.2.1. Mouse properties
8. Configuring buttons
8.1. Button properties
9. Configuring revoco
10. Property reference
10.1. Mouse properties
10.2. Button properties
10.2.1. General
10.2.2. Key combination
10.2.3. Configuration switch
10.2.4. Command execution
10.2.5. Other properties
11. Advanced settings
12. Troubleshooting
12.1. btnx specific problems
12.2. External programs and settings
12.3. Other sources of help

1. Introduction

So you have a mouse with a bunch of buttons that do nothing. Is it time to retreat to the safe haven of MS Windows and its vendor supplied device drivers? btnx will hopefully reduce the temptation.

btnx, a.k.a. Button Extension, is a daemon that enables you to route mouse button events as keyboard combinations and command executions. btnx-config is a GUI used to detect your mouse and its buttons, and then edit the btnx configuration file. Their combination forms something like Logitech's SetPoint software, but it should work with just about any mouse.

The interface should be quite self-explanatory and littered with instructions. However, every program has its quirks and needs some explaining. This manual will hopefully leave very little undocumented concerning the usage of btnx and btnx-config.

Why isn't btnx implemented as a driver?

 

Once you realize that documentation should be laughed at, peed upon, put on fire, and just ridiculed in general, THEN, and only then, have you reached the level where you can safely read it and try to use it to actually implement a driver.

 
--Linus Torvalds, 2001 

Because I like to keep my documentation _dry_.