How to make your Mac mouse great with Mac Mouse Fix

It's no secret that most third-party mice don't work well with Macs. But if you don't want to use the built-in trackpad or spend money on Apple's pricey Magic Mouse, the Mac Mouse Fix app can improve your experience with third-party mice on macOS.

How to install and use the Mac Mouse Fix application

Mac Mouse Fix is ​​a handy app that adds Mac trackpad gestures like Smart Zoom, Mission Control, Launchpad, etc. It also allows adding various custom actions to the buttons and scroll wheel. mouse, personalize your mouse experience. You can even use Mac Mouse Fix to improve scrolling smoothness or reverse the scrolling direction of any mouse (independent of the trackpad).

After downloading the app using the link above, follow these steps:

1. Double-click the downloaded file and follow the installation wizard to complete the installation process.
2. Turn on the Enable Mac Mouse Fix switch .
3. You will now see a pop-up window allowing the app to make changes. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility and turn on the switch next to Mac Mouse Fix.
4. Finally, check the Show in Menu Bar box  in the Mac Mouse Fix window.

Once you set up a third-party mouse on your Mac, you can use Mac Mouse Fix to customize your mouse experience. The app provides an intuitive interface where you can easily assign different gestures and actions to your mouse buttons and mouse wheel.

App is free for 30 days; After that, you pay a one-time fee of $2.99. The app works well with standard third-party mice with three buttons and more advanced mice with side buttons. Note, however, that more mouse buttons mean more customization options.

Use Mac Mouse Fix to add Trackpad gestures

One of the advantages of buying Apple's Magic Mouse is that it supports most Mac gestures, such as Mission Control or swiping between pages and full-screen apps. However, you can use Mac Mouse Fix to add these Mac Trackpad gestures to any third-party mouse. Here's how:

1. Open Mac Mouse Fix from the menu bar or do a Spotlight search.
2. Click the Buttons tab to assign Mac Trackpad gestures to mouse buttons.
3. You will see some default gestures assigned to the mouse buttons. Click the Restore Defaults button in the lower right corner of the window to choose the default settings for a standard mouse with 3 buttons or for 5 or more buttons.
4. If you don't like the default settings, click the drop-down menu next to an action and select your preferred gesture to assign to that action.

Example using Click and Drag for Spaces & Mission Control . This works like a three-finger swipe on the Trackpad, i.e.:

1. Hold down the middle button (mouse wheel) and move the mouse up to enter Mission Control.
2. Hold the middle button and move the mouse down to enter App Exposé.
3. Hold the middle button and move left or right to swipe between full-screen apps.

As suggested above, you can bring most of the Mac Trackpad gestures to a third-party mouse. The only limit is the number of buttons on your mouse.

Lesley Montoya

Update 20 August 2024