I’ve been using the Logitech MX Revolution for a little while now.
The Good
- Rechargeable battery and cradle.
- Free spinning scroll wheel. It’s just fun.
- Accurate mouse tracking.
- Immediately available when I turn it on - no needing to move it around to get it “recognized”.
- Battery level display.
- Not bad looking.
The Bad
- Can’t find a way to replace the rechargeable battery - doesn’t seem to use AAs. This means I can’t shove in standard batteries if it dies completely. This hasn’t been an issue yet.
- No ’scroll wheel click’ button, as pressing the scroll wheel toggles between free-spin and click-spin mode for the scroll wheel.
- Side thumb buttons are too high to easily press.
- All the thumb stuff makes it harder for me to grasp the mouse from the sides as I’m accustomed to.
The lack of a button action when clicking the scroll wheel should have been a deal-breaker. I’ve used this functionality for about 8 years now and it’s completely ingrained in my mousing behavior. However, I like the friction-less scrolling mode of the scroll-wheel and the charging cradle, so I’m actually trying to get used to using a thumb-button to double-click.
Check out the Gadgeteer review too.
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Alex Moyler adds this Comment:
It looks like an awesome mouse, been eyeing it for a while. Thanks for the review!
Quick question though. As you said, the scroll wheel button switches the scroll mode- like you, it’s become second nature to me to Middle click for a number of functions. Can it be programmed into the side wheel or the other button on the top instead? I’ve been in dire need for a new mouse for a while and this has been top of my list.
February 15th, 2007 at 1:22 am
Alex adds this Comment:
I’m not sure, that depends on what the “it” is.
February 15th, 2007 at 9:01 am
Nick adds this Comment:
I was given this same mouse as a Christmas gift and just started using it last week. Not having a middle click is going to force me to get rid of it. The software for programming the buttons seems very limited too.
February 15th, 2007 at 10:20 am
Alex adds this Comment:
At first I used the thumb-wheel click as a middle-click, that didn’t work too well because it was hard to push. I tried the ‘forward/back’ action of the thumb wheel and didn’t like that either. Now I’ve settled on one of the upper thumb buttons for double-click. It took more than a week to get used to, but I’ve gotten used to it.
USB Overdrive on the Mac is pretty good for the buttons.
Frankly, if there was another mouse out there that was wireless, rechargeable with a cradle, fit my hand and looked decent; I probably wouldn’t have been willing to adjust my habits.
February 15th, 2007 at 10:25 am
adam adds this Comment:
i have an MX 610, which is not the same, but since the middle click is really non-negotiable for some programs (softimage), i’ve set the side-to-side (default back/forawrd) buttons of the wheel to middle click. it’s working reasonably well, since the middle click on my work mouse is worn down to the point that it clicks down when i push it to the side
February 15th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Richard adds this Comment:
I just replaced a broken MX1000 with a MX Revolution. Well, Logitech did since my MX1000 broke. As soon as I learned it had no middle-click button, I almost put it i the box and sent it back. But I learned the power of uberOptions. This tool set adds on to the Logitech software letting you customize the buttons. I’ve used it before on other Logitech mice, but the beauty of it here is that you can remap the “Search” button to middle-click. It works perfectly for me and now I’ve grown to like it better than middle-clicking the wheel.
Oh, you know what? I just remembered you’re on a Mac. I don’t think this add-on works for Macs. I’ll need to check. Oh well. At least your readers will know it works on Windows.
February 15th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Alex Moyler adds this Comment:
That’s what i wanted to know.
Cheers.
February 17th, 2007 at 1:11 am
fred adds this Comment:
ever get the middle click working. i don’t see it as an option:
screenshot of uberOptions and search button
what am I missing? a key combo won’t work. ctrl+t just opens a new blank tab.
March 21st, 2007 at 8:55 am
Tom adds this Comment:
Beware, SmartShift (automatic switching of config sets depending on the current application) doesn’t work on Intel Macs as of LCC (Logitech Control Center) 2.1.3.
The middle wheel keeps switching between modes - irritating…
April 10th, 2007 at 1:52 am
Paloooz adds this Comment:
Okay, at first I thought there was no middle click, but after I installed the drivers I soon learned otherwise.
You can setup the mouse to switch between free spin and notched scroll based on which application you are in … you can have it detect automatically and it will switch to free spin, for instance if you JERK the wheel it will drop into free spin mode.
Once you set that up, middle click works fine.
April 28th, 2007 at 1:06 am
Matt Gemmell adds this Comment:
Just a note, using SteerMouse ($20) you can configure all the functionality of the MX Revolution on Mac OS X, including setting up middle-click for pressing the scrollwheel. That’s how I have it configured, and I use the SmartShift feature to go between ratcheted and free scrolling based on how hard I spin the wheel. I’m using OS X 10.4.9, by the way. Works like a charm.
May 13th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Marlon Rubio adds this Comment:
Matt, how did you manage to enable SmartShift in SteerMouse? I’ve followed the instructions to alter the config in Terminal and log out/ log in, but after a couple of minutes, it settles back to click mode, and I have to use the wheel button to switch between free spin and click. Very fustrating.
June 5th, 2007 at 2:15 am
Daryl Quenet adds this Comment:
I had the pleasure of having Logitech send me a Logitech MX Revolution, and now at work I curse the fact that I only have one. Its one of those things that once you start to use it, the bar that is your computer experience rises. The closest comparison is dual monitors vs a single monitor. The scroll wheel is my favorite feature especially for web development, or even should the need arise scroll through 3000+ emails in Outlook with a single flick of your wrist. Its sexy and functional, what else can you ask for in a mouse?
June 8th, 2007 at 12:47 am
Logitech MX Revolution Re-Connection Instructions | alexking.org adds this Pingback:
[…] bought a second Logitech MX Revolution on eBay (refurbished) to have one at the office. Problem was, it didn’t seem to work when I […]
August 15th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
james adds this Comment:
Well, after having mine for about 6 mo, i’m getting the red flashing battery symbol, Haven’t tried to pop it open yet. Though I do know that it *will* hold a charge, as I was recently using it and had left it out of cradle for a few days.
August 26th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
RandomHelp adds this Comment:
Hello, Id just like to add a small how-to guide on how to bind the Revolution MX’s ‘Search button’ to middle-click without the need of any 3rd party software, using the SetPoint software.
First of all, the settings for all the bindings are stored in a xml file in your “Documents and Settings” folder. Take note, for Vista, this folder has been renamed to “Users”. I run XP so I haven’t tested this on Vista, I assume it will still work.
1, Exit Setpoint completely.
2, Navigate to:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Logitech\SetPoint
folder.
(replacing username with your username)
2, Open the user.xml inside that folder with Notepad.
3, To find quickly where the Search Button’s current binding is, simply run a search in Notepad for
4, Four lines down, there will be a TriggerState tag that deals with what the button does and how it operates. Replace the ‘HandlerSet’ value with “MiddleMouseButton” (keep the case intact and do not use spaces) so that the entire line reads:
5, Save and exit Notepad.
6, Run SetPoint, and enjoy.
Hope this helps someone
September 29th, 2007 at 1:26 am
RandomHelp adds this Comment:
My above how-to is missing the search and replace strings needed to work. It would seem the less than and greater than symbols don’t work too well on this page.
The line should read:
’search Notepad for:
‘lessthan’Button Number=”6″ Name=”4″‘greaterthan’
and the TriggerState tag should be:
‘lessthan’TriggerState Name=”ButtonDownUp” HandlerSet=”MiddleMouseButton”‘greaterthan’
Where Ive written ‘lessthan’ and ‘greaterthan’ you should replace those with the proper symbols, there are no spaces or quotes just convert ‘lessthan’ or ‘greaterthan’ into the angled brackets.
September 29th, 2007 at 1:35 am
grandma adds this Comment:
I’ve just bought an MX Revolution for my new Intel iMac as my hand hurts when I use the Mighty Mouse, but now I can no longer double or treble click manually. Nothing happens when I click more than once on the main (left) click button. I downloaded LCC 2.3.1 but have abandoned it in favour of Steermouse. I’ve set up the right button for double-click but find it slower to work like this, especially when highlighting text in QuarkXPress. Am I doing something wrong?
November 15th, 2007 at 7:17 am
Matt adds this Comment:
I’m disappointed. No middle click is an absolute deal breaker for me. I can’t do my job without it. The mouse feels way too small in my hand. The wheel sails pretty good, but I can’t seem to find a comfortable spot for my thumb without causing havoc. Either way, the missing middle button means it’s going back to the store. I’m very disappointed.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Alex adds this Comment:
With SteerMouse on Mac OS X I have made the little zoom button a middle click.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Colin adds this Comment:
I double click the scroll button to get the same functionality of the normal middle click.
December 26th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
thonquol adds this Comment:
I’ve had the opportunity to install and try out the MX Revolution on a friend’s computer a few months ago, and after digging through the software for a while, I was able to set the wheel button as middle mouse button as it should be. I believe I had to change the scroll mode set in the software in order for the option to show up in the button mapping section.
Having been given an MXR myself now, what really irks me is that I’ve been unable to install SetPoint on Win2k…
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:36 am
Greg adds this Comment:
I set the front thumb button to the middle mouse button in OSX like this: in the logitech control center, set the thumb forwad button to “Advanced Click” leave click type to “click” and set the button number to 3.
January 17th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Jerseydevil adds this Comment:
Does the MX620 function the same as the MX Revolution?
February 20th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Jeremy Palmer adds this Comment:
I just got my mouse. I noticed as well that it did not have a middle mouse click. YOU CAN MAKE THE TOP SCROLL WHEEL map to middle click. Here is what I did.
I found uberoptions here:
http://www.mstarmetr[...]ers/rlowens/
Download latest exe and run it.
Open setpoint
select MY MOUSE at top right
Under 2. select button click on 3 MOuse:3. Middle Button
Under 3. Select Task click other then selct Function Button
Then from the dropdown select Mouse:3.Middle Button click ok
I had also previously disabled Allow manual shifting between modes on the wheel settings page.
Hope this helps you.
March 5th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Alex adds this Comment:
Unfortunately .exe files don’t work as well on Macs.
March 5th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Shayne Sweeney adds this Comment:
If you download the Logitech Control Center from their site (for Mac OS X) you enable the middle click, though it’s not exactly straight forward.
First you click on the “MicroGearâ„¢ Precision Scroll Wheel”, then choose “Configure SmartShiftâ„¢” Choose “Start in Click-toClick mode” and check “Autho-shieft to Free Spin when speed is:”.
After that choose “Advanced Click” for “MicroGearâ„¢ Precision Scroll Wheel Button”. “Click Type” as “Click” and “Button number” as 3.
There ya go.
You can go through and tweak all the scroll speed and acceleration settings to your liking, not to mention the other bazillion buttons this mouse has. I have to say this app really makes it hard to make any complaint about this mouse.
Alex: Would you mind updating the original post if you found this accurate, as I was almost turned away by your post, if it wasn’t for the fact that I can’t take no for an answer, I would’ve never tried to get this working.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Iceman adds this Comment:
people, it DOES have a middle click. there is a setting so fast acceleration of the middle button unlocks it into the smooth wheel mode, and then once you stop, it goes into clicky mode. The middle button will work as normal with this setting. This mouse is amazing, don’t hate on it because you can’t figure it out.
April 15th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Christopher adds this Comment:
I did get the middle mouse scroll wheel to also work as the middle mouse button. For me, it was not automatically enabled by choosing the auot shift option on the mouse wheel tab. On the mouse buttons tab, I had to select the 3rd button, for the wheel, and select other. Then from the list I could select middle click as an option. Work perfectly now, and I love it.
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:59 pm