This Is the Best Mouse Customization Tool for Mac
Every mouse is a little different—some accelerate faster than others, for example—and it can be annoying (and even disorienting) if you use one mouse at home and another at work. The Mac’s mouse panel in System Preferences, of course, lets you adjust things like tracking speed, but changing the setting for one mouse changes it for all of them, meaning you can’t force the two devices to meet in the middle.
LinearMouse is a free app that lets you choose different settings for each mouse and touchpad you connect to. This may help you solve the acceleration issue I just mentioned, and will also allow you to use natural scrolling on one device and not others. It can also customize all mouse buttons.
First, you need to download the application and launch it. You will be prompted to provide accessibility permission, which is required for the application to function. After this, you can start setting up your devices. By default, the app will set up whatever device you last used—you can set up a specific device instead by clicking the current device’s name in the top toolbar and unchecking “Automatically switch to active device.” Do this and you can choose which of the currently connected devices you want to configure.
The app allows you to customize scrolling, pointer movement, and all mouse buttons. The scrolling section has a modifier key section that I particularly like, which allows you to do things like hold down the Command key while scrolling to zoom in.
At the same time, in the buttons section, you can remap the back and forward buttons you might have on your mouse to simulate moving your finger on a trackpad. You may find that this allows you to use the buttons in more applications. It’s also possible to customize any button on your device to perform a variety of actions, from flight control to media playback. You can even call a Terminal command if you want to get creative.
There’s another level of customization here. You can choose application-specific settings for any mouse. So, if you want to assign mouse buttons to perform certain actions while using a certain application or playing a certain game, you can do so. You can also configure your mouse differently on different displays. For example, you might want your mouse to move faster on a huge widescreen screen without speeding it up on the smaller screens you sometimes use. It’s possible.
Essentially, it’s an app that can be endlessly customized to give you exactly the experience you want. It’s also completely free. Check this out if you want your mouse to work differently.