Spaces can no longer be activated by a mouse button

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Spaces can no longer be activated by a mouse button

I used to have Spaces activated by mouse button 4. This no longer works, even though it is still configured as such.

I know that SL is detecting my mouse properly, because button 4 works for other things. For example, I can assign mouse button 4 to "show desktop", and this works. So I believe it is a Spaces issue, not a mouse driver issue.

I have also tried assigning other mouse buttons (3, 5) to activate spaces, and it still does not work.

I can activate spaces using my keyboard or clicking on the dock icon.

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6), Microsoft Intellimouse

Posted on Aug 29, 2009 5:12 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 29, 2009 5:13 PM in response to ManiG

Sounds like a bug. Try submitting a Bug Report.

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Answer 2

V.K.

Level 9

56,192 points

Aug 29, 2009 5:18 PM in response to ManiG

it could very well be a mouse driver issue. I have similar problems with a wireless microsoft mouse while 2 other mice work just fine. what kind of mouse is it?

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Answer 3

Aug 29, 2009 5:21 PM in response to ManiG

Are you using USBOverdrive?

If so it is not compatible with 64-bit mode yet.

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Answer 4

ManiG Author

Level 1

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Aug 29, 2009 8:46 PM in response to ManiG

Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0A

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Answer 5

Aug 29, 2009 10:58 PM in response to ManiG

I've got the same problem with a MS IntelliMouse Optical (5 buttons). It's the only issue I've had with SL so far but it's really annoying. I don't think it could be a mouse driver issue as I can assign the buttons to other functions i.e. Dashboard & Exposé so SL can detect the button clicks OK, it only ignores the Spaces assignment. I can still activate Spaces via the keyboard or Dock.

I'm not using USB overdrive or MS Mouse software.

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Answer 6

Aug 29, 2009 11:21 PM in response to Simon Baker4

Just found the solution to this problem in another thread. Delete the preferences file 'com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist' from Library/Preferences/ in your home folder, log out, log back in again and reassign your mouse buttons. Works perfectly now 🙂

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Answer 7

Oct 5, 2009 11:39 PM in response to ManiG

Similar problem. I had "Activate Spaces" set to ^0. It stopped working after 10.6.1 update and no matter what I set it to, or whether or not the checkbox under Keyboard Shortcuts is on or off it will not work. Error sound (Ping) and, if in a finder window, selects the first item in the window. I know the key is getting through without getting caught by the right handler.
Is there a way (Terminal? Xcode?) to dig to the definition and see why ^1 will take me to space 1, etc. but only the main "Activate" won't?

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Answer 8

Oct 6, 2009 10:37 AM in response to Darren Hatch

I tried moving com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist and recreating it by reentering a few different choices for Preferences:Keyboard:Activate Spaces from the desired ^0 to F5 to shift-F13. The entry is there. But it acts like the handler is not hooked up. The other controls work.
And I found that the keyboard was (Adesso ergonomic) was unrecognized so trained it for that ('z' then '/') and tried again. No difference. Keystroke codes aren't the problem. The "activate" isn't matched up to that entry in the table.

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Answer 9

Dec 2, 2009 9:45 PM in response to Simon Baker4

I used this method to fix my spaces problem monday evening, but here I am 2 days later and it's broke again. I'm going to delete it again and submit the problem to Apple. Hopefully they're listening.

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