3 ms·

It depends. I'm always on the lookout for a better mouse for use in CAD on Linux. I've mostly settled on the Logitech Anywhere 2S, because it does "just work"

by zsmi 5y ago

It depends. I'm always on the lookout for a better mouse for use in CAD on Linux. I've mostly settled on the Logitech Anywhere 2S, because it does "just work", but this is hardly a universal opinion. At least within my workplace. I've found basically all mice will work if all you want is scroll and left, center, right buttons. But if you want all the extra stuff, like the various wheels and side buttons etc., and especially if you want to customize the response, which CAD people often do, then one often needs the driver.

franga2000 5y ago
Out of curiosty, which CAD software do you use on Linux? While I don't use CAD very often, all the software my engineer friends swear by only runs on Windows so any Linux recommendations would be appreciated.
- programmer_dude 5y ago
  FreeCAD?
- horsawlarway 5y ago
  Not OP, but I finally switched away from Fusion 360 to FreeCAD - https://www.freecadweb.org/ https://www.freecadweb.org/ I'll be honest, Fusion 360 is still a lot better in a lot of ways (advanced feature set, ease of use, layout and hotkeys, etc), and if I were employed to do CAD full time, I'd still be using it (helps that the company would be buying the license). FreeCAD is workable, though. And since I'm mostly just making parts to 3d print, it gets the job done nicely. TinkerCAD is another option (https://www.tinkercad.com/ https://www.tinkercad.com/) and it's honestly the easiest CAD tool I've ever used. But it's not really comparable to the real parametric CAD tools.
- zsmi 5y ago
  I'm an EE so most of my work, that requires a lot of mousing, is layout which involves various Cadence/MentorGraphics tools. I think most of the mechanical engineers here use NX. It's industrial grade, very expensive, and not open-source, etc. The mechanical engineers used to use windows too and moved off it a couple of years ago. No idea why.
- CapitalistCartr 5y ago
  Yeah, my CAD software, Rhino, is all that ties me to Windows.
silisili 5y ago
Gotcha... that makes sense. I've never required more than two buttons and a scroll wheel, which I guess explains that.
dheera 5y ago
On Linux I just use xbindkeys to get the extra buttons to do something. The extra mouse buttons work out of the box with X with no drivers, they just need to be assigned to do something. I have 2 extra mouse buttons for switching between virtual workspaces and another 2 for volume control. https://github.com/dheera/scripts/blob/master/config/config-xbindkeys https://github.com/dheera/scripts/blob/master/config/config-... https://github.com/dheera/scripts/blob/master/config/files/xbindkeysrc https://github.com/dheera/scripts/blob/master/config/files/x...
megameter 5y ago
Lately I have returned to using a gamepad with Joy2Key for browsing and productivity in Windows, something I last did in the 2000's. It's not perfect(some mouse events just don't work right through this method so I may have to try other software) but it's reminded me of what gamepads are good at relative to mice, which is - almost everything except whipping around the cursor, which isn't useful in productivity apps anyway. Precision and speed can be had by using multiple sticks and dpad, you can hold it at many angles and aren't chained to the desk, the grips have been ergonomically refined, and there's a decent selection of sticks, buttons and triggers. I wish gamepads had some wheels or dials too, but the options already there are aplenty and I am testing a few out right now. I currently mix gamepad with a split keyboard(Freestyle 2) and a Kensington trackball as the backup mouse; having the controller in the center of the split makes it smooth to pick up and put down. And if I really needed more dedicated controls - well, why stop at one gamepad? Maybe I should try a flight stick too.

by zsmi 5y ago

franga2000 5y ago

Out of curiosty, which CAD software do you use on Linux? While I don't use CAD very often, all the software my engineer friends swear by only runs on Windows so any Linux recommendations would be appreciated.

programmer_dude 5y ago
FreeCAD?
horsawlarway 5y ago
Not OP, but I finally switched away from Fusion 360 to FreeCAD - https://www.freecadweb.org/ https://www.freecadweb.org/ I'll be honest, Fusion 360 is still a lot better in a lot of ways (advanced feature set, ease of use, layout and hotkeys, etc), and if I were employed to do CAD full time, I'd still be using it (helps that the company would be buying the license). FreeCAD is workable, though. And since I'm mostly just making parts to 3d print, it gets the job done nicely. TinkerCAD is another option (https://www.tinkercad.com/ https://www.tinkercad.com/) and it's honestly the easiest CAD tool I've ever used. But it's not really comparable to the real parametric CAD tools.
zsmi 5y ago
I'm an EE so most of my work, that requires a lot of mousing, is layout which involves various Cadence/MentorGraphics tools. I think most of the mechanical engineers here use NX. It's industrial grade, very expensive, and not open-source, etc. The mechanical engineers used to use windows too and moved off it a couple of years ago. No idea why.
CapitalistCartr 5y ago
Yeah, my CAD software, Rhino, is all that ties me to Windows.

silisili 5y ago

Gotcha... that makes sense. I've never required more than two buttons and a scroll wheel, which I guess explains that.

dheera 5y ago

On Linux I just use xbindkeys to get the extra buttons to do something. The extra mouse buttons work out of the box with X with no drivers, they just need to be assigned to do something. I have 2 extra mouse buttons for switching between virtual workspaces and another 2 for volume control. https://github.com/dheera/scripts/blob/master/config/config-xbindkeys https://github.com/dheera/scripts/blob/master/config/config-... https://github.com/dheera/scripts/blob/master/config/files/xbindkeysrc https://github.com/dheera/scripts/blob/master/config/files/x...

megameter 5y ago

Lately I have returned to using a gamepad with Joy2Key for browsing and productivity in Windows, something I last did in the 2000's. It's not perfect(some mouse events just don't work right through this method so I may have to try other software) but it's reminded me of what gamepads are good at relative to mice, which is - almost everything except whipping around the cursor, which isn't useful in productivity apps anyway. Precision and speed can be had by using multiple sticks and dpad, you can hold it at many angles and aren't chained to the desk, the grips have been ergonomically refined, and there's a decent selection of sticks, buttons and triggers. I wish gamepads had some wheels or dials too, but the options already there are aplenty and I am testing a few out right now. I currently mix gamepad with a split keyboard(Freestyle 2) and a Kensington trackball as the backup mouse; having the controller in the center of the split makes it smooth to pick up and put down. And if I really needed more dedicated controls - well, why stop at one gamepad? Maybe I should try a flight stick too.