IntelliMouse thumb buttons work as root, broken as non-root user, wheel works always

digital vortex · 03-01-2004, 07:15 AM

Hello All,

I've searched for quite a bit about my particular problem before posting, so sorry to bother you all with yet another imwheel configuration question.

What do I have to do to make the thumb buttons on my 5 button IntelliMouse Explorer mouse function correctly when logged in as a non-root user.

I've been running Linux (Slack 9.1) for about two days now and I've configured imwheel as per the directions listed many times in various forums.

Here's the relevant snippet from my /etc/X11/XF86Config file:

Code:

Section "InputDevice"

# Identifier and driver

    Identifier  "Mouse1"
    Driver      "mouse"
    Option "Device"      "/dev/mouse"
    Option "Protocol"    "ExplorerPS/2"
    Option "Buttons" "7"
    Option "ZAxisMapping" "6 7"

EndSection

And here's what I have inserted into my /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.kde file:

Code:

# Start the window manager:
xmodmap -e "pointer = 1 2 3 6 7 4 5"
imwheel -k -b "67"
startkde

Finally, the .imwheelrc file in my home directory contains:

Code:

".*"
None, Up, Alt_L|Left
None, Down, Alt_L|Right

This configuration works perfect when I'm logged in as root. The wheel scrolls in Mozilla, and the Thumb Buttons allow me to move simulate "back" and "forward" page history functions.

However, when I log in as a normal user (which I created using "adduser" and all default values) the thumb buttons stop working as desired. If I click the thumb buttons over application windows, the new window will gain focus (I use KDE with MSWindows-like window behavior), but Mozilla no longer responds to these buttons by moving back and forth in page history. However, the scroll wheel continues to function.

I tried calling imwheel by using the "-p" flag, but that didn't fix anything. I also suid-rooted the imwheel binary by executing "chmod +s" on /usr/local/bin/imwheel, but that also did not help. In desperation, I used the KDE KUser utility to add my non-root user to the same groups that root belonged to. That also didn't do much to improve the situation.

Can you guys spot my mistake? Sorry to bore you, and thanks in advance.

mathwizard · 03-01-2004, 09:16 AM

The problem is in your .imwheelrc if you are logged in as another user and the file is in /root/ folder you don't have access to it. create the file in your home folder where you are as normal user e.g. /home/mysuer

digital vortex · 03-01-2004, 09:36 AM

Mathwizard, sorry for the confusion. In my original post, when I said I created the ".imwheelrc file in my home directory," I meant that I already created this file in the home folder of the normal user.

So... I'm still having this problem. Thanks for the reply though.

GregLee · 03-01-2004, 11:14 AM

But do you have the same .imwheelrc in the home directories of root and non-root users? If you don't have a .imwheelrc in root's home directory, and the wheel works for root, try removing .imwheelrc from non-root home directories. Another thing is to check permissions for /dev/mouse or /dev/input/mice. Did you try the mouse without using imwheel? I don't have a wheel, but I thought recent versions of X could handle it without imwheel.

digital vortex · 03-01-2004, 04:46 PM

Actually, now I've stopped using .imwheelrc files in user's home directories, and am simply referencing the global imwheelrc definitions file in /etc/X11/imwheel/imwheel.

So, same file for all users now.

Except the funky behavior still continues. Wheel + Thumb Buttons only work when logged in with root.

Only wheel works when logged in as normal user.

Greg, after removing the .imwheel file, thumb buttons became equivalent to page up and page down keypresses, and the wheel stopped working entirely. This idea did not fix the problem.

ilikejam · 03-02-2004, 06:17 AM

Hi.

Try changing your ~/.imwheelrc file to:

".*"
None, Up, Alt_L|Left
None, Down, Alt_L|Right

"(null)"
None, Up, Alt_L|Left
None, Down, Alt_L|Right

It might not work, as you say you have things working as root, but it sorted out the thumb buttons in Mozilla for me.

Dave

digital vortex · 03-02-2004, 10:49 AM

Sigh,

Dave, that did not help either.

Other attempts I have tried include:

1. Running imwheel through sudo.

2. Chmodding +s the /dev/mouse and /dev/psaux devices.

3. Adding the xmodmap and imwheel startup commands to ~/.xinitrc instead of in /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.kde

4. Praying.

5. Using variations on the imwheel startup, such as "0067" instead of "67." And the -f flag.

6. Referencing the ~/.imwheelrc file again, instead of /etc/X11/imwheel/imwheelrc.

7. Manually adding "pointer = 1 2 3 6 7 4 5" to the vestigal /etc/X11/xinit/.Xmodmap file.

8. Forgot to mention that I disabled gpm from starting up as a service during the Slackware install. I read somwhere once that Slack's copy of gpm and imwheel are not best of friends.

Gah, I'm stuck. Thank you all for your help.

Continued suggestions are welcome. I'm pretty sure nothing is wrong with my imwheel setup, and it's accompanying files. Instead, I think I did something wrong when I originally employed "adduser" to create the non-root user. But that's just my inexperienced, humble opinion.

I'm considering just using the root user for everything.... blah.

digital vortex · 03-02-2004, 05:14 PM

Update: got it to work.

It was a combination of Dave's last tip and correct syntax of using sudo.

It's odd that I didn't have to use the "(null)" section for the thumb buttons to work right for root.

I also didn't realize that one had to issue the sudo command with the full file path, not just the name of the binary.

Thank you all.