How can I assign actions to all my mouse buttons?

Question

I have a mouse with lots of buttons, but it's not a mainstream make like Logitech. For Windows, I have a driver that lets me assign actions like close-window (Ctrl+W) or next-tab (Ctrl+Tab), but I don't have a Linux driver. Since Linux is so flexible, I thought perhaps there is a general way to do this, regardless of brand?

Update: Based on input from Cyrex, I installed and ran sudo apt-get install btnx which found several but not all mouse buttons.
Found: left, right, wheel, wheelclick, thumb fwd, thumb back.
Not found: wheel left, wheel right, thumb middle button.
Vendor ID is 0x04d9, Model ID is 0xa015.

Update 2: In System>Prefs>Mouse there's a lightbulb icon for testing double-click speed. Every working button can turn the bulb on&off, but the missing buttons can't. It would seem that Ubuntu isn't aware of these buttons and thus doesn't register their clicks. I guess I need to hunt for a driver, though a mainstream mouse is probably the easier way.

Answer 1

If all buttons are detected correctly then you can install btnx:

sudo apt-get install btnx OR sudo aptitude install btnx

Then go to: Applications -> System Tools -> Btnx

It has support for many types of mice

Answer 2

If you install the CompizConfig Settings Manager then you will be able to set a lot of window management mouse button shortcuts.

It may take some effort working out which button is which.

In the screenshot I am assigning opening the Super+Tab switcher to a left-click of my scroll wheel.

Answer 3

Easystroke is a Mouse gesture-recognition application and mouse gesture manager for Ubuntu and Other Linux distribution. it allows user to control ubuntu application with hand drawn mouse gestures or Draw on the Screen. Easystroke work on Tablet PCs, it can be used equally well with a mouse, pen, or even your fingers if you have a touch-sensitive screen.

Install Easystroke in Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install easystroke

If you want installing easystroke via PPA, you can adding a PPA repository, type this command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:easystroke/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install easystroke

For Unity Users : EasyStroke have not used indicator applet yet, so when you run it from menu, you have nothing on Indicator Applet. To solve this problem, simply run these command in terminal:

easystroke -g

It will run EasyStroke and open configuration windows automatically.

Source

Answer 4

Easystroke Gesture Recognition is designed primarily for creating custom pointing device gestures, but it can also be used to assign actions to simple button presses.

To use it in this manner,

1. Open the configuration window.

2. In Preferences ▸ Behavior ▸ Additional Buttons ▸ Add, select Instant Gestures and then press the desired mouse button in the gray box.

   

3. In Actions, click Add Action.

4. Double-click in the Stoke column and then press the desired mouse button again.

5. Click in the Name, Type and Details columns to set up an action.