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Mouse chording is the capability of performing actions when multiple mouse buttons are held down, much like a chorded keyboard
Chorded keyboard

A keyset or chorded keyboard is a list of input devices that allows the user to enter characters or commands formed by pressing several keys together, like playing a "chord " on a piano....
.

Notice that chorded actions may require more training to learn if the pressing of one button does not provide feedback hinting that pressing another button will get a result.

One of the most popular applications of mouse chording, called rocker navigation, is found in Opera
Opera (web browser)

Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by the Opera Software company. Opera handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, IRC online chatting, downloading files via BitTorrent , and reading web feeds....
 and in mouse gesture extensions of Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is a web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. Official versions are distributed under the terms of the proprietary EULA....
.






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Mouse chording is the capability of performing actions when multiple mouse buttons are held down, much like a chorded keyboard
Chorded keyboard

A keyset or chorded keyboard is a list of input devices that allows the user to enter characters or commands formed by pressing several keys together, like playing a "chord " on a piano....
.

Notice that chorded actions may require more training to learn if the pressing of one button does not provide feedback hinting that pressing another button will get a result.

One of the most popular applications of mouse chording, called rocker navigation, is found in Opera
Opera (web browser)

Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by the Opera Software company. Opera handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, IRC online chatting, downloading files via BitTorrent , and reading web feeds....
 and in mouse gesture extensions of Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is a web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. Official versions are distributed under the terms of the proprietary EULA....
. For example:
  • Holding the left button and clicking right moves forward in browser's history.
  • Holding the right button and clicking left moves backward in history.


In the X Window System, a three button mouse can be emulated using a two button mouse by having a chorded click from both the right and left buttons be translated into a middle click.

The operating system Plan 9
Plan 9 from Bell Labs

Plan 9 from Bell Labs is a distributed operating system, primarily used for research. It was developed as the research successor to Unix by the Computing Sciences Research Center at Bell Labs between the mid-1980s and 2002....
, Oberon
Oberon operating system

Oberon is an operating system, originally developed as part of the NS320xx-based Ceres workstation project; it is written entirely in the Oberon programming language....
 and the acme
Acme (text editor)

Acme is a text editor and graphical shell from the Plan 9 from Bell Labs operating system, designed and implemented by Rob Pike. It can use the sam command language....
 development environment make heavy use of mouse chording.

  • The left (button 1) selects.
  • Holding the left and clicking the middle (button 2) cuts.
  • Holding the left and clicking the right (button 3) pastes.


Copying is effected by holding the left, then clicking the middle and right in succession. This behavior is common to all text windows under Plan 9
Plan 9 from Bell Labs

Plan 9 from Bell Labs is a distributed operating system, primarily used for research. It was developed as the research successor to Unix by the Computing Sciences Research Center at Bell Labs between the mid-1980s and 2002....
 but can have different capability under different contexts.

In Plan 9's acme
Acme (text editor)

Acme is a text editor and graphical shell from the Plan 9 from Bell Labs operating system, designed and implemented by Rob Pike. It can use the sam command language....
 programming environment some extensions of the basic chording principles are implemented. For example, sweeping while holding a mouse button can have these effects:

  • Button 1 selects.
  • Button 2 performs an action or executes a command.
  • Button 3 performs search or other context-based actions.


OS/2
OS/2

OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "IBM Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal computers....
 Presentation Manager
Presentation Manager

Presentation Manager is the graphical user interface that International Business Machines and Microsoft introduced in version 1.1 of their operating system OS/2 in 1988....
 can also use chording to copy and paste text using two buttons. However, Common User Access
Common User Access

Common User Access is a standard for user interfaces to operating systems and computer programs. It was developed by IBM and first published in 1987 as part of their Systems Application Architecture....
 key combinations are more frequently used.

The Apple Mighty Mouse
Apple Mighty Mouse

The Apple Mighty Mouse is a multi-button USB or Bluetooth Mouse manufactured and sold by Apple Inc. It was announced and sold for the first time on August 2, 2005....
 does not support mouse chording due to the design of the button sensors.

Applications that support mouse chording

  • Microstation
    Microstation

    MicroStation is a computer-aided design computer software product for 2- and 3-dimensional design and drafting, developed and sold by Bentley Systems....
     - CAD Software, uses chording to snap to elements.
  • Acme
    Acme (text editor)

    Acme is a text editor and graphical shell from the Plan 9 from Bell Labs operating system, designed and implemented by Rob Pike. It can use the sam command language....
  • Opera
    Opera (web browser)

    Opera is a web browser and Internet suite developed by the Opera Software company. Opera handles common Internet-related tasks such as displaying web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, IRC online chatting, downloading files via BitTorrent , and reading web feeds....
  • Firefox with addons
  • Blender 3D
    Blender (software)

    Blender is a free software 3D computer graphics graphics application. It can be used for 3D modeling, UV mapping unwrapping, texturing, skeletal animation, water simulations, skeletal animation, computer animation, rendering , particle system and other computer simulation, non-linear editing, compositing, and creating interactive 3D applicati...
  • Plan 9 from Bell Labs
    Plan 9 from Bell Labs

    Plan 9 from Bell Labs is a distributed operating system, primarily used for research. It was developed as the research successor to Unix by the Computing Sciences Research Center at Bell Labs between the mid-1980s and 2002....
  • Sketchup
    SketchUp

    SketchUp is a 3D modeling computer program designed for architects, civil engineers, filmmakers, game developers, and related professions. It also includes features to facilitate the placement of models in Google Earth....
  • Wily
    Wily

    Wily is a text editor created by Gary Capell for Unix computer systems. It is based on Acme , the computer mouse-centric editing environment for the Plan 9 from Bell Labs operating system....
  • Valve Hammer Editor
    Valve Hammer Editor

    Valve Hammer Editor, formerly known as Worldcraft and now commonly called Hammer, is Valve Software's Level design program for their game engine, Source engine....
  • World of Warcraft
    World of Warcraft

    World of Warcraft, often referred to as WoW, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game . It is Blizzard Entertainment's fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994 in video gaming....
  • Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
    Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

    Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a Nonlinear gameplay action-adventure game computer game and video game developed by Rockstar North. It is the third 3D computer graphics game in the Grand Theft Auto video game franchise and fifth original game overall....
     - The weapon aiming system in the PC version of San Andreas implements mouse chording, as it requires the user to hold the right mouse button to aim while clicking or holding the left button to fire a weapon or use an item, such as a camera
    Camera

    A camera is a device that records images, either as a still photograph or as moving images known as videos or movies. The term comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism of projecting images where an entire room functioned as a real-time imaging system; the modern camera evolved from the camera obscura....
    .


External links

  • , describes the various chords in acme
  • , describes chording inside the Plan 9 window system
  • , describes chording in OS/2.
  • ,