Which mouse and driver software?

Based on past threads here, I'm reasonably confident that the effect of those buttons is determined at the system level by your mouse driver software and that Firefox does not know that you clicked a button, it simply receives the keyboard combination for the "back" command and complies.

i agree that this is probably handled on a system level, but there seems to be a generic back/forward-button binding. on windows 7 with a logitech mouse but without any special drivers installed this works for me in various applications (firefox, ie, windows explorer, chrome, ...).

@Crewman06: you should probably tone it down a few notches if you want to get constructive replies

See also:

• http://www.highrez.co.uk/downloads/XMouseButtonControl.htm - X-Mouse Button Control

• [/questions/933949] Anyway to make mouse button 4 and 5 not go back and forward but still retain there functionality with other programs

@madperson: I'm sure I could have toned it down before posting, and I probably could edit it. However, I feel it adequately conveys my frustration of the question at hand.

As for 'constructive replies', I wasn't asking for a fix but rather the reasons for why the problem exists in the first place and, why the problem hasn't been fixed across multiple platforms at the software level of the browser itself by now. To dismiss it with 3rd party software so quickly after all this time just doesn't seem right.

To dismiss it with 3rd party software so quickly after all this time just doesn't seem right.

The fact remains: Firefox is only aware of three mouse "buttons": left, right, and middle (for many people, middle is a clickable scroll wheel). In a hypothetical world where your mouse driver did not convert the 4th and 5th buttons into keyboard shortcuts, those buttons would not even be noticed by Firefox.

I've had enough. The fact that a problem this simple has not been fixed after PTT programs have been around for such a long time is just too much for me. There are no FF addons to address this issue, and I can't edit these keys out in my config.

I'm not installing third party hardware simply to unbind a completely avoidable nuisance for a browser that is already heavier on my PC than Chrome.

I'm actually going to Chrome because of this issue. This annoyance has just been around for too long.

Hi wootsicle, for historical reference, what is your mouse/trackball device that sends commands to Firefox but not to Chrome?

Has anyone tried the keyconfig extension for this? If the theory is that the mouse driver is sending keystrokes for back and forward, those keystrokes could be removed (Firefox would simply ignore them). Hopefully someone can test this theory (I don't have a fancy mouse).

(1) Install the extension from the link here, then restart Firefox

keyconfig 20110522 • mozillaZine Forums

(2) Open the extension's options using

orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons > Extensions > keyconfigu > "Options" button

(3) Scroll down and select Back (Alt+Left Arrow) and either

• Disable
• Click in the small input box and press Alt+Up Arrow then click Apply to change the keystroke

Note: If you prefer a different key combination than Alt+Up Arrow for Back, feel free to choose a different one.

Close the options dialog

(4) Test the mouse button that usually causes Firefox to go back

If that works, you could repeat with Forward.