Middle mouse button

[Adagio]

What is the magic trick to get it working in games? Ever since I got my first mouse with a middle (scroll wheel) button many years ago, I have never gotten it working in games (works perfect in Windows though)

This problem is getting more and more annoying, as game developers completely ignores this problem, and just assumes that everybody has got it working. In more and more games, they make use of this button, and in some tutorials they're forcing you to use it, just to continiue the tutorial. All tutorials has the usual "learn how to move around the world" part in the beginning, which in many cases includes the "now press you middle mouse button to rotate/pan the view". Now because this is impossible, there's no way to get to the part of the tutorial where they tell you about how the game actually works... just great

Now until now this hasn't been the biggest problem, as the tutorial is not necessary to be able to play the game, but now a game has been released where a very important part of the game requires the middle mouse button (even though it would make more sense to use the keyboard... but did they include a keyboard shortcut to do the same? Nope!)

So what's the secret? Do I have to enter a secret password whenever I start the game?

[Nikolai]

It works fine for me in the games I have that uses the wheel. Civ4 and R:TW for example.

[Adagio]

The wheel works fine in games, it's the actual button that doesn't work (in games that is)

[snoopy369]

I've never had trouble using the middle mouse button.

Are you using a fairly standard mouse? Also, are you using a fairly standard mouse driver? FTM, it could be a problem with your localization of windows... what version of windows are you running?

[DrSpike]

I don't recall ever being made to use the button. However, if I were I'm confident it would work!

Have you been drinking ADG?

[Jaguar]

I've used the middle mouse button in Halo PC and Black and White. (Of course, I've used the scroll wheel in many other games as well.)

I just assumed it works automatically.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by snoopy369
Are you using a fairly standard mouse? Also, are you using a fairly standard mouse driver? FTM, it could be a problem with your localization of windows... what version of windows are you running?

Always been using english version of Windows, and always been using the official drivers to my mice (the drviers shows up the correct mouse)
All the mice I tested was from Logitech, and all buttons has always worked in Windows

[DrSpike]

Odd.

How many games have you tested it with?

[Adagio]

For the past year I've noticed it in three games (of what I remember... could be more)... I have seen this problem in more other games over the years, but I don't remember exactly which other games, but the three games for the last 12 months I'm sure about

[Bkeela]

It never worked in Alpha Centauri which was annoying.

[Quillan]

It depends on the mouse. I have a Logitech G5. The software that comes with it (SetPoint) has the ability to change what each button does for individual programs, and has one default setting which it uses if you don't make a specific one for that program. By default, the middle button is set to Universal Scroll or something similar. I had to manually select to use Middle Button on that setting. Some older games (ones that came out before two-button mice with a scroll wheel were the standard) don't always recognize it, but newer ones do. Now if I could just get the games to recognize the thumb button and tilt clicks...

[Adagio]

Do you mean that you have to chose between making the middle mouse button usefull in games or in Windows? I have set it to maximize (I hate non-maximized windows)... there's no way I'm going to change that just to play a few games, those games are not worth it...

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Bkeela
It never worked in Alpha Centauri which was annoying.

I don't think I had a middle mouse button when that came out, so good thing really.

[Quillan]

Originally posted by Adagio
Do you mean that you have to chose between making the middle mouse button usefull in games or in Windows? I have set it to maximize (I hate non-maximized windows)... there's no way I'm going to change that just to play a few games, those games are not worth it...

I don't, but that's because of SetPoint. I can, for example, set the middle click to be Middle Mouse in HL2, the G key in Far Cry, the P key in RTW, CTRL+C in Civ 4, or whatever. There's also an "All Programs" setting, which is what it uses in anything where it doesn't have a specific command programmed. By default, in Windows, middle clicking does certain things in certain programs. Most browsers have it bring up a scroll arrow, where the window scrolls in whatever direction you move the mouse.

The thing is, the prior Logitech software (MouseWare) didn't do differentiation based upon the program running. It was one setting, only. So if you set middle click to be Maximise, it won't work in games unless the game recognizes the Maximise command as a keystroke. Some recognize things like that as ALT, but not all.

[Spaced Cowboy]

Word of advice.

Don't ever install and drivers from logitech.

They make great hardware...period. You are asking for trouble to let them write code.