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Mac Mouse Fix is an app that makes your mouse better.

I want to turn Mac Mouse Fix into the best mouse driver of all time! Some features are still missing at the moment, but I think it already turns regular mice into the best input devices for Macs in some ways. At the same level or even better than an Apple Trackpad or a Logitech MX Master mouse.

For more information on how exactly Mac Mouse Fix enhances your mouse, visit the website.

Features

See the website for an overview of the features of Mac Mouse Fix, including video demos!

For more details, see the <a href=https://github.com/noah-nuebling/mac-mouse-fix/releases>Releases</a>.

Installation

Download the latest version of Mac Mouse Fix on the website.

You can also install Mac Mouse Fix through Homebrew! Just type the following command into the terminal:

brew install mac-mouse-fix

You can download older versions of Mac Mouse Fix under Releases.

macOS compatibility

The latest version of Mac Mouse Fix is made for macOS 11 Big Sur or later.

If you're on macOS 10.15 Catalina, macOS 10.14 Mojave, or macOS 10.13 High Sierra, you can use the latest version of Mac Mouse Fix 2. Mac Mouse Fix 3.0.0 and later might still work on your machine, but they will have visual issues and some features might not work properly.

If you're on macOS 10.12 Sierra, or 10.11 El Capitan, you can use Mac Mouse Fix 2.2.0 or below.

Pricing

See the website for an overview of the pricing for Mac Mouse Fix 3.
Mac Mouse Fix 2 and below will remain free forever.

Uninstallation

Uninstall Mac Mouse Fix by simply moving it to the bin.

However, there will be files left on your system. To get rid of these files I recommend the awesome AppCleaner by FreeMacSoft.

Under macOS, it is not feasible for apps to delete these leftover files by themselves when you delete the app. That's why I highly recommend using an app like AppCleaner.

What people say

Thanks so much to everyone sharing their excitement about Mac Mouse Fix!
On the website you can find a collection of nice things people have said about the app.

Tips

• Manage windows with a simple Click and Drag

  Swish is my favorite way to manage windows on macOS. With a simple swipe on your trackpad, it lets you position any window so it takes up half, a quarter, or the whole screen.

  Swish is designed for trackpad gestures, but with Mac Mouse Fix you can use it from any third-party mouse! Just go to Mac Mouse Fix and set any buttons "Click and Drag" action to "Scroll & Navigate" and then you can snap windows with a simple Click and Drag.

  Anything you can do with a two-finger swipe on an Apple trackpad works just as well with the "Scroll & Navigate" feature in Mac Mouse Fix.

• Control Screen Brightness, Audio Volume, or Media Playback right from your mouse

  Mac Mouse Fix lets you use any key on your keyboard directly from your mouse - even special keys only found on Apple keyboards that let you control Screen Brightness, Audio Volume, Media Playback, and more.

  If you don't have an Apple keyboard at hand, hold Option (⌥) to choose the special Apple keys.

  <img src="Markdown/Media/Apple-Keys-Demo.gif" width="700">

Questions

• Is Mac Mouse Fix native on Apple Silicon?

  Yes, Mac Mouse Fix runs 100% native on Apple Silicon.

• Why is there a delay when I click?

  When you click, Mac Mouse Fix might wait to see if you're going to double click.
  To remove the delay for a button, delete any "Double Click" actions for that button.

• How can I orbit around objects in 3D apps like Blender?

  In 3D apps like Blender, you normally Click and Drag the Middle Mouse Button to orbit around objects.
  But if you assign actions to the Middle Mouse Button in Mac Mouse Fix, then this won't work anymore.

  To solve this, I know of 2 options:

  1. Assign clicking and dragging one of the buttons of your mouse to the "Scroll & Navigate" feature. This feature simulates swiping with 2 fingers on an Apple Trackpad. This will, among other things, let you orbit in 3D apps!
  2. Uncapture the Middle Mouse Button by deleting all actions assigned to it in Mac Mouse Fix. See this guide for more info.

• Can I open App Exposé through a Click and Drag Gesture? <!-- Note: We're using App Exposé here and Application Windows in MMF. Not sure that's great. I felt this was clearer though. -->

  Yes! Just choose the 'Spaces & Mission Control' Action and then Click and Drag down.

  If this doesn't work, it's likely because the 'App Exposé' trackpad gesture is disabled on your Mac.
  You can enable the gesture under System Settings or by running the following command in the terminal:

  defaults write com.apple.Dock showAppExposeGestureEnabled -bool TRUE; killall Dock
  

  <!-- NOTES: Maybe we should automate this. For context, see Issue https://github.com/noah-nuebling/mac-mouse-fix/issues/387 -->

• Is my mouse supported?

  Short answer: Probably. If you want to know for sure, it's best to download Mac Mouse Fix and try it out.

  Mac Mouse Fix works very well with most mice. However, on certain mice designed to be used with proprietary driver software like Logitech Options, Mac Mouse Fix can't recognize all the buttons at the moment.

  That's because these mice communicate with your computer using a special, proprietary protocol, instead of the standard USB protocol. I would love to add full compatibility for these mice at some point, but it's a ton of work and it won't be coming soon.

• Is the Magic Mouse supported?

  I might add features in the future which enhance the Apple Magic Mouse, but currently, Mac Mouse Fix has no effect on it.

  <!-- You can use SteerMouse or proprietary driver like Logitech Options instead. -->

• Are tiltable scroll wheels supported?

  Some mice let you tilt the scroll wheel left or right to scroll horizontally. Mac Mouse Fix will make this feel more natural and easy to control. However, it's not currently possible to trigger other actions, such as switching between desktops, by tilting the scroll wheel. I'd love to implement this feature at some point, but it's a ton of work and it won't be coming soon.

  <!-- This is so hard, because it would require reprogramming the mouse so that it sends button-signals instead of sending scroll-signals, when you tilt the scroll wheel. And to reprogram the mouse, would require communicating with the it through the custom vendor-specific protocol. And that's not easy. For many mice it's not even possible. -->

• Turning off pointer acceleration

  Mac Mouse Fix doesn't let you turn off the pointer acceleration, but if you're on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, you can turn off the pointer acceleration under System Settings > Mouse > Advanced... > Pointer acceleration.

  I plan to add really nice ways to improve pointer acceleration in the future, but I'm not sure when that's coming.

• Does Mac Mouse Fix collect my data?

  Mac Mouse Fix does not have ads, and it does not collect any personal information about you.

  However, at the moment that you buy the app, the sales provider Gumroad.com collects some personal info, such as your email address, and this info is visible to me. This is necessary to be able to issue refunds, send a license key to your email, etc. I cannot turn this off. To learn more about the data collected when you buy Mac Mouse Fix, see the Gumroad Privacy Policy.

• Is there a refund policy?

  There is no official refund policy, but the app is free for 30 days.

  If you experience any problems after buying the app, just reach out to me, and I will do my best to help.

• Will Mac Mouse Fix still be Open Source now that it's monetized?

  Yes, Mac Mouse Fix will still be open source!

  I encourage anyone to use the source code of Mac Mouse Fix in their own projects, as long as they don't release a simple copy of Mac Mouse Fix.

  Learn about the details in the MMF License which Mac Mouse Fix 3 and later are licensed under.

  <!-- , and I don't plan to change that at any point. This also means you can use Mac Mouse Fix for free by building it from source and disabling the licensing checks. That's perfectly fine, I just discourage sharing these cracked versions online.\ And of course, on the next update, you'll get a non-cracked version which means you'll have to do this again for every update. (Or just pay $1.99 for the greatest mouse driver ever! :) -->

• Can I get Mac Mouse Fix for free if I already donated?

  Yes! See the Acknowledgements for more info.

How you can contribute

There are several ways to help the project.
Check out the Acknowledgements for more info on who has already contributed!

• Giving feedback

  You can help by sharing your ideas, issues and feedback via the Feedback Assistant.

• Contributing money

  I hope to be able to sustain myself financially through Mac Mouse Fix. That way, I can keep improving and working on the app. If you would like to help, you can:

  1. Buy Mac Mouse Fix by clicking the button in the app, or clicking here.
  2. Tip me on PayPal. I don't get a lot of money from this, but it's always cute and motivating to get a donation.
  3. Sponsor me on GitHub. A monthly sponsorship is a great way to support the project and help me have a more stable income.

• Adding translations

  Mac Mouse Fix is available in English, German as well as the languages listed in the Acknowledgements.

  If you would like to help translate the project, see the Localization Guide.
  If you want to report missing or suboptimal translations, that's also very helpful. The best way to report problems is by commenting under the Localization Guide.

• Contributing code

  If you would like to contribute code, that's awesome! I'll be happy about any pull requests.

  However, I might not accept all pull requests. If you want to make sure that your work is not wasted, you can submit an initial pull request that only describes the changes you want to make, but contains little or no code. Then I can give you feedback and tell you if I would adopt the changes you want to make in that way.

  <!-- NOTE: I should mention people who contributed code on the acknowledgements page. They are already in the update notes. -->

Thank you to everyone who has already contributed and supported me in trying to make the best mouse driver of all time! :)🚀

Background

Initial Release

In 2019, during my first semester break, I released Mac Mouse Fix - a simple way to make your mouse better! It was a simple portfolio/passion project and I didn't really expect people to use it, but people ended up really liking it and even bought me some milkshakes, which was a great feeling! :) Here's what I wrote on the Mac Mouse Fix website back then:

My name is Noah and I made Mac Mouse Fix. When I started this project I was completely new to software development, but with the power of Google, Stack Overflow, and Apple's Developer Documentation at my fingertips I managed to learn what is necessary to deliver a solid little app that I hope will be useful for you guys. Working on Mac Mouse Fix made me discover a passion for programming, and led me to enroll in a Computer Science Degree at college, which has been awesome so far. I probably won't have a lot of time to work on Mac Mouse Fix during the semester, but please feel free to make your own contributions to Mac Mouse Fix on GitHub!

I think what people really appreciated about the first version of Mac Mouse Fix was that it was free and very simple and felt almost like a native part of macOS. The feature-set was quite limited but well-implemented and people who only wanted those features were really happy with the app.

Mac Mouse Fix 2 & Innovations

After that, I kept developing Mac Mouse Fix on and off between my studies. I discovered ways of simulating Apple Trackpad gestures that were never previously discovered, as far as I know. And I also developed a really innovative UI for remapping mouse buttons that is both more simple and more flexible than anything I've seen before.

I released the coolest benefits of these innovations with Mac Mouse Fix 2 in 2020. It let you Click and Drag to use Mission Control and Spaces in a way that feels just as fluid and native as swiping on a Trackpad, and it also let you do 7 things with just one button and allowed for endless customizations due to the super nice remapping UI.

I also figured out how to adjust the pointer speed under macOS which no software could do before except for SteerMouse and its spin-off CursorSense. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to release features based on this technology, yet, but because Mac Mouse Fix is open source, other apps like LinearMouse have been able to ship features based on the things I discovered back then.

Mac Mouse Fix 3 & Mental Health

After Mac Mouse Fix 2 was released, I kept working on the project during semester breaks. My goal was now to turn Mac Mouse Fix into a full-fledged Trackpad replacement. All the pieces were almost in place to let Mac Mouse Fix bring all the smooth Gestures and workflows that people are used to from a Trackpad to any cheap mouse.

So I began working on the necessary features to make this a reality. I was close, but making it really good ended up being much harder than I anticipated. I worked for months, discovering low-level hacks in macOS and implementing complex maths to finally end up with a system that allows you to use all the Trackpad gestures straight from your mouse in a way that feels just as polished, intuitive and seamless as a real Trackpad!

I also developed an innovative, beautifully animated UI for Mac Mouse Fix that dynamically hides or shows UI elements to provide powerful customization options while being super simple to use. In my opinion, the UI provides some of the sleekest, nicest settings of any app on macOS.

(Sorry if I'm tooting my own horn too much here, but I think it's really cool)

Especially since around the time that I released Mac Mouse Fix 2, I have unfortunately struggled a lot with my mental health. And after starting University with really good grades and a nice social life, I unfortunately became too depressed and anxious to finish my degree. Due to my autism and mental health issues, I think I also unfortunately won't be able to hold a normal job anytime soon.
However, I have a lot of passion for working on Mac Mouse Fix and I think I can do it well, despite my mental health struggles. So I made the plan to try to be financially independent through app development. In Fall of 2023, I set my sights towards working on Mac Mouse Fix full-time and slowly, but deliberately turning it into the best mouse driver ever (🚀🚀🚀) and an app that any Mac user with a mouse can appreciate and benefit from.

I released Mac Mouse Fix 3 in 2023 with the tagline 'Make Your $10 Mouse Better Than an Apple Trackpad!'. It's free for 30 days and costs $1.99 to own. I hope that's a fair price that anyone can afford while allowing me to make a living. So far it looks like I can live off of the sales revenues! Meaning that I can keep working on Mac Mouse Fix full time and turn it into the best app that I possibly can.

Thanks so much to everyone for their support, be it through financial support, by giving constructive feedback, or by simply sharing their excitement about the app with me. Thanks! :) <3

Noah
(January 7th 2023)