Yarr, it's drivin' me nuts.
October 5, 2008 3:20 PM Subscribe
How do I get my middle-click to work the way it used to?
I recently had to reimage my PC and after reinstalling XP and all my apps, a very annoying thing is happening in FireFox. My usual browsing habit on the PC is to middle-click links to open in a new tab, and middle-click tabs to close them when finished. After the reimaging, however, middle-click has been badly misbehaving.
Basically, it seems that the action (i.e. opening or closing a tab) now happens the entire time the middle button is pressed, whereas it used to happen only once, at the instant the button was de-pressed. So if I middle click for longer than a tiny fraction of a second, I either open 2-3 tabs (or even more if I keep the button held down), or close 2-3 tabs. I know I can get around this by not using the middle-click, but middle-click is so ingrained in my browsing habits I keep doing it. And I know it wasn't like this before I had to reinstall XP, so I'd like to take things back to the way they were.
More info:
Mouse is USB Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 3.0. I've used Windows Update to get the latest mouse drivers and no change. Running XP SP3 with FF 3.0.3. I've looked at the settings in FF about:config and in Control Panel mouse options, but didn't see anything relevant to middle-click timing.
I'm not sure if this is a FireFox issue or a general Windows issue, as I don't use any other programs that use middle-click. Anyone run into this before?
I recently had to reimage my PC and after reinstalling XP and all my apps, a very annoying thing is happening in FireFox. My usual browsing habit on the PC is to middle-click links to open in a new tab, and middle-click tabs to close them when finished. After the reimaging, however, middle-click has been badly misbehaving.
Basically, it seems that the action (i.e. opening or closing a tab) now happens the entire time the middle button is pressed, whereas it used to happen only once, at the instant the button was de-pressed. So if I middle click for longer than a tiny fraction of a second, I either open 2-3 tabs (or even more if I keep the button held down), or close 2-3 tabs. I know I can get around this by not using the middle-click, but middle-click is so ingrained in my browsing habits I keep doing it. And I know it wasn't like this before I had to reinstall XP, so I'd like to take things back to the way they were.
More info:
Mouse is USB Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 3.0. I've used Windows Update to get the latest mouse drivers and no change. Running XP SP3 with FF 3.0.3. I've looked at the settings in FF about:config and in Control Panel mouse options, but didn't see anything relevant to middle-click timing.
I'm not sure if this is a FireFox issue or a general Windows issue, as I don't use any other programs that use middle-click. Anyone run into this before?
I know you said you didn't see anything relevant to middle-click timing in the Mouse control panel, but are you sure the wheel-click function is actually set up to generate a middle-click? I've seen lots of "intelligent" mouse drivers that allow you to choose a custom function for wheel-click, and this usually doesn't default to generating a middle-click, and this has often caused me to swear at software vendors who won't leave good-enough standards alone.
If you have mouse support software showing up under Add/Remove Programs, uninstall it and restart Windows. Windows should then redetect your mouse and install the generic mouse driver, which doesn't have all the fancy schmancy options and just lets you get on with your work.
posted by flabdablet at 5:26 PM on October 5, 2008
If you have mouse support software showing up under Add/Remove Programs, uninstall it and restart Windows. Windows should then redetect your mouse and install the generic mouse driver, which doesn't have all the fancy schmancy options and just lets you get on with your work.
posted by flabdablet at 5:26 PM on October 5, 2008
Download the IntelliPoint software from http://www.microsoft.com/hardware. By default, XP will detect the mouse, but won't offer support for the scroll wheel (middle-click) or the two thumb buttons on the right (I have the same mouse).
I think the Intellipoint software is up to 6.2.x at this point.
posted by Jim T at 2:57 PM on October 6, 2008
I think the Intellipoint software is up to 6.2.x at this point.
posted by Jim T at 2:57 PM on October 6, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
There should be some software you can install that controls the mouse, other than just the driver (called 'IntelliPoint' I believe). Downloading and installing that might help; you should at least have more options. Maybe you had it installed on your old setup and its absence is the problem.
posted by dixie flatline at 5:18 PM on October 5, 2008