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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse System 10.5
Tue, Nov 20 2007 at 2:30PM PST • Contributed by: JamesThree
Apple has given us several easy ways to switch spaces in Leopard. I'm using an even easier method that only requires my mouse.

I hardly ever use the horizontal scroll feature of my mouse -- left-and-right scrolling doesn't come up often enough for me to really need it. So I've mapped left scrolling the mouse wheel to the keystroke Control-Left Arrow, and right scrolling the mouse wheel to the Control-Right Arrow. Now just a quick left or right flick of my mouse wheel switches me between my spaces.

If you don't have a mouse with horizontal scrolling, you could program the scroll wheel button to F8 to bring up the Spaces view and then just mouse to the space you need. Either way gives you a easy method that doesn't require moving your hand off the mouse.
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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse | 22 comments | Create New Account
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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: sxtxixtxcxh on Tue, Nov 20 2007 at 3:14PM PST
i've used my side scrolling for exposé and recently switched the other side scroll function to spaces. however, i've found a bug where if you restart the dock, spaces loses the mouse binding. it's still set, but it ignores the mouse until you logout and log back in...

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: clclementsj on Tue, Nov 20 2007 at 4:20PM PST
Thank you for this suggestion. I don't know why I didn't think of it!

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: deh2k on Tue, Nov 20 2007 at 4:32PM PST
OK, I give up. How do you map the horizontal scroll wheel motion to a keystroke?

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: el_mancebo on Tue, Nov 20 2007 at 4:37PM PST
Pick any window and move it to the edge of the screen, the space changes.
You only use the mouse, and 0 config.

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: robogobo on Wed, Nov 21 2007 at 8:22AM PST
really? that doesn't work for me.

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: cstraughn on Tue, Nov 20 2007 at 5:34PM PST
I can't find where to assign a keystroke combo to the mouse left and right scroll - please post how tos on that - thanks!

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: bryanchapman9999 on Wed, Nov 21 2007 at 12:02AM PST
Can this be done with a trackpad on a powerbook - a left / right scroll would be cool to change desktops!
I can't find anywhere though on how to assign mouse / trackpad to keys

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: adrinux on Wed, Nov 21 2007 at 1:21AM PST
Mapping F8 to the scroll wheel button leaves you with no useful middle click, if you use terminal or any X11 programs, or Blender then you're in trouble :)

I really wanted to use option+tab as I had in Virtuedesktops, but that's not possible. And the 4th button on my mouse is already mapped to F9.

I ended up with control+right-click mapped to F8.

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: bryanchapman9999 on Wed, Nov 21 2007 at 4:34AM PST
How did you do the mapping???

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: cstraughn on Wed, Nov 21 2007 at 7:40AM PST
How do you guys map any keys to a mouse event? I don't see how to do that - thanks!

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: dg37mosxh on Wed, Nov 21 2007 at 7:48AM PST
Or just select the numbered space from the Spaces icon in the menubar. Nothing other than mouse movement and two clicks required.



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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: robogobo on Wed, Nov 21 2007 at 8:24AM PST
It's usually customary to include in a hint the instructions on how to do it. Several people have asked how to map horizontal scrolling, and so far this is a gimp-hint.

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: LAX2TLV on Wed, Nov 21 2007 at 11:45AM PST
ABSOLUTELY
I think it's pathetically arrogant of all of you guys to converse on, ignoring the fact that most of the posts here ask for a quick explanation on how to remap the scrolling!

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: otto_heron on Thu, Nov 22 2007 at 8:08AM PST
On my Logitech mouse pushing the wheel to the left generates a mouse button 7 event, to the right a mouse button 8. You can just map those in the spaces system preferences pane.



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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: s_h_a_d_y on Thu, Nov 22 2007 at 11:23AM PST
I use this program to map the side scroll http://plentycom.jp/en/steermouse/

Works realy well.

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: HugoMe on Thu, Nov 22 2007 at 6:45PM PST
I affected left top corner to spaces , so to change space, i just have to move the mouse (i enter in Spaces) and point& clic to the space i need;
no need to remember the relative position of the space i want to go to the one i am in

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: LAX2TLV on Fri, Nov 23 2007 at 5:25PM PST
Shady, thanks for being the first to break the arrogant ignorance but that program does not seem to work on laptop trackpads (at least on my MacBook Pro)

Is there any way to get this working on a MBP???

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: Valrus on Sun, Nov 25 2007 at 8:27AM PST
Another option is to use xGestures and set up gestures to invoke the Spaces hotkeys. It's only $5 and works quite well.

---
Grape iMac DV 400Mhz
Mac OS X, 512MB RAM
10GB internal, 60GB FireWire
This is the life.

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: brianmita on Thu, Jan 3 2008 at 8:06PM PST
I use the freeware "Warp". you can just hold the mouse at the edge of the screen by itself, or with a modifier key. Really got me to use spaces more effectively.

http://www.ksuther.com/warp/

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: gobi on Wed, Jan 23 2008 at 5:38PM PST
money...esp the feature that limits this from working to only when command, or option, or.. is held down. without it you can get dizzy

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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: Soarer on Fri, Feb 8 2008 at 1:15AM PST
Thanks brianmita

Warp is just what I've been looking for!
Virtue desktops had this feature and I thought I had to wait for hyperspaces [link:]http://hyperspacesapp.com/ to be able to use it again. It's just a little easier than bringing up Spaces which I also have in the left top corner.



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10.5: Switch Spaces with just the mouse
Authored by: Soarer on Fri, Feb 8 2008 at 1:19AM PST
By the way, I accidentally rated this 2. Is there anyway I can change that?
This hint derserves top rating!

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