Configure Mouse Settings on the Debian System

This guide provides a practical overview of Configure Mouse Settings on the Debian System, including its main features, benefits, limitations, and important considerations.

Note : You can run all the commands and procedures from this article on Debian 10 Buster systems and even on older versions of Debian.

Create mouse configuration through the Debian Settings utility

If you prefer to use the GUI to perform simple administrative tasks, you can use the graphical Settings utility.

You can access Settings through Search Launcher application or by accessing the following:

Click the down arrow located in the upper right corner of the Debian screen and then click the installation icon from the following window:

Click the down arrow located in the upper right corner and select the settings icon

In the Settings utility, you need to click the Devices tab and then the Mouse & Touchpad tab to make the necessary configuration.

Alternatively, you can directly launch this view by entering the keyword mouse and touchpad into the Application Launcher search box as follows:

Enter the keyword mouse and touchpad in the search box

This is the interface of Mouse & Touchpad :

Interface of Mouse & Touchpad

You can make the following settings through this window:

1. Set the left / right mouse button as the main button

To make the mouse more comfortable for left-handed users, you can change the order of physical buttons on the mouse and touchpad. In the General panel of the Mouse & Touchpad window, click the button you want to use as the main mouse button.

2. Configure mouse speed

Not all mice (hardware) move the cursor perfectly at the default mouse speed set on your Debian screen. You can adjust the movement speed of the mouse cursor quickly or slowly by sliding the Mouse Speed slider left or right, on the Mouse control panel in Mouse & Touchpad .

3. Turn on / off Natural scrolling

By turning the Natural scrolling feature on / off, you can configure whether your current scrolling content or current view. Find the Natural scrolling button in the Mouse panel under the Mouse & Touchpad tab, select ON or OFF to enable / disable the Natural scrolling feature.

Create mouse configuration with Gnome Tweaks Tool

Gnome Tweaks Tool also lets you perform several configurations for the USB mouse. To install this utility, open Debian Software Manager and search for Gnome Tweaks:

Open Debian Software Manager and search for Gnome Tweaks

Click on the same search result that you see above and install it on the system.

Now, open the Tweaks tool from the System Dash, then go to the Keyboards & Mouse tab:

Keyboards & Mouse Tab

You can make the following settings through this window:

1. Configure Acceleration Profile

The Acceleration Profile drop-down menu on Keyboard & Mouse lets you choose one of three profiles:

• Default: This profile ensures that the cursor moves very smoothly and accurately at short distances.
• Adaptive: This profile takes into account the current speed of the device when deciding to accelerate.
• Flat: This profile adds a constant element to all devices, regardless of movement speed.

2. Highlight the cursor position when pressing the Ctrl key

The cursor position feature can be enabled using the slider button. When this feature is turned on, you can highlight the position where the cursor is currently located just by pressing the key Ctrl.

3. Paste when clicking the middle mouse button

If your mouse has a mouse wheel or a third button between the left and right mouse buttons, you can use it to paste the copied content (text, images, etc.). You can enable or disable this feature using the slider button next to Middle Click Paste in Keyboard & Mouse .