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Is there a way to make the right mouse button of a touchpad open new tab in firefox?

Clint

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Hiddey hiddey hey peeps. Got my new shiny laptop today. Good news is that it's super fast. Bad news is that using a touchpad takes some getting used to!

Whenever I use a mouse, I press down the scroll wheel above a link and that opens a new tab for me in firefox. With this touchpad, I don't have a scroll wheel and I'm never going to use the left mouse button, so I was wondering if there was a way that I could make it so that a press of the left mouse button over a link will open a new tab in firefox, but not change the page I'm viewing.


And this fingerprint reader is a Godsend! No more typing in a thirteen letter screen name and an eleven letter password (and typing it wrong and having to do it again...)! I feel like James Bond. I love the twenty-first century.


Actually, a new window would be just as nice. That way I could use those neat flip 3d and preview features that Vista sucks up my resources for! Future!
 
my best advice is get a mousepad that plugs into a USB port.
 
That's not what I asked, but thanks.
 
Most touchpads are built by Synaptics. Even though yours 'works,' it's just a dumb downed driver. If you install the companies driver, you get to do other things. This is what I copied from there website.

Programmable Button Assignments
The Programmable Button Assignment feature allows users to configure the action performed when a button is pressed. For example, users could define the right button to “go to a web page in the default browser.” Each time that button is clicked, the web browser would automatically open and load the specified page. However, the factory defaults for mechanical buttons are generally set to emulate primary and secondary mouse clicks.

I installed the driver to take a look, but it wanted me to reboot, and I'm feeling lazy. So see if this gets you in the right direction.
 
Nope, that didn't work unfortunately. I didn't even see an option to do that.
 
Works for me...

Start Button > Control Panel > Mouse > Device settings (has a red icon) > Settings > Buttons > Left Button Action (I used the right one) > Record and play a sequence of key strokes > Press start button > Press CTRL T > Press stop button. Keep hitting all the okay buttons, and ta-da! My firefox now opens a new tab every time I click the right button.
 
If your new laptop is running vista just go into control panel > mouse click the Buttons tab. On the Right Mouse drop down select "Key Macro". This should pop up a window click start then hit CTRL T the stop then hit all the OK buttons.

This is basically the same thing MrFlyTrap2 said with a few changes for the way my Vista system is set up by default.
 
Uh-Oh. I do not see that option. I see "switch primary and secondary buttons" , double-click speed, and clicklock under the buttons tab.

Something else weird is that while I'm typing, without touching the touchpad, my cursor will go somewhere totally random within the body of text and I have to delete what I typed, go back to where it should be, and type it again.
 
i know that the right and bottom sides of the touchpad will scroll a page if you slide your finger up and down or side to side, but i dont know if you can make it clickable. usually i will hold CONTROL or SHIFT + left click will open a new page or tab.

~b
 
  • #10
Either you don't have a synaptics touch pad, or you didn't install the other driver like I listed above. For the other issue, your probably brushing the touch bad with your palm. It takes some getting used to, and is kinda annoying for a while... but you'll get the hang of it. If not, just start pounding your fist on it.
 
  • #11
I did install a synaptics driver, but apparently not THE synaptics driver I need :p I just downloaded like every touchpad driver I could find from dell, and we'll see how that works out. The newest one was from 05, so it's dubious at this point.

I'm not brushing thee touchpad with my palm. I know this beca.... I just did it again. And again!

Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I was typing gibberish specificially waiting for it to happen, and I made sure I did not touch it. As I am typing now, I am not touching it yet it still happens. Someone suggested static electricity...
 
  • #12
Fail. Get out of my internets. (lol jk)

But seriously, just call Dell. I know it will take like 8 hours, and you'll probably understand 3 words of what the guy tells you, but it would solve the problem of the jumpy touch pad. I had one that just randomly flew around like that, and I made them send me a replacement.

Can't help you w/ the firefox thing
 
  • #13
If you download the driver from dell, they probably will remove most of the features from the original synaptic driver. They do that so they don't get tech support calls from mothers due to their kids assigning the right mouse button to open up tabs on firefox. 8)
 
  • #14
I've never had a problem understanding the accents lol.

The driver would not work on Vista. This is getting retarded. I just may call them up if I can't fine an answer soon.
 
  • #15
The problem is obviously the hedgehog. They bring bad luck to electronics... well thats what the crazy lady at the Walmart said. I can believe it, cant trust things that look like this
Hedgehog%20pix%204.jpg

Creep me out... blame your hedgehog.


But seriously, I had a similar problem with my plug-in mouse, with the cursor moving and clicking randomly. I got a new one and it stopped. Yes I know its not really related to a touchpad, but it may be more than simple program problems because the thing should work immediately, regardless.
 
  • #16
Well, given the hedgehog issue, I figured out what's wrong. I tried every Synaptics driver I could find and nothing worked, so I had to install some special Dell driver and now I can do what I want :p I also have scrolling capabilities now.This calls for celebration pills!

1..2..3.. Hurrah!

The erratic cursor hasn't presented it's self again. We'll see if it's gone or not.
 
  • #17
I also just accidentally discovered that pressing the "ctl" key and left-clicking opens a new tab. I think someone already mentioned something along those lines, and it appears you've already got your solution; but, I wanted to share that information for posterities sake.

xvart.
 
  • #18
Clint I just stumbled across this add-onand thought of this thread.

xvart.
 
  • #19
That does look good. I'm glad I didn't have to do that, though. If I had not found my driver I think I would have gone out and bought a mouse. I can't live without the middle button!
 
  • #20
Clint go under options, then to tools, and click on the tabs option on top. Put a check mark in the box that says always show the tab bar. Then when you want to add a tab you go up to the tab bar and right click. An option will come up for new tab. I love firefox and you do not need all the addons or driver changes to do what you want to do. You will use the buttons more than you think because sometimes the tapping of the pad doesn;t always work right.
 
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