using 2 independent mice at the same time?

[Spanik]

Is it possible to use 2 mice at the same in a way they have 2 pointers? Strange question perhaps but I'd like to try this as I think it could be handy when working with 2 screens. Like when you have on one screen a drawing where you need to take measurements in app A and then on the other screen another app B where you are using those measurements. I'm drawing a 3D model from old scanned plans and this would avoid a lot of moving around with the mouse. Certainly with large screens.

I just tried to connect 2 mice but they both control the same pointer. So that doesn't help.
_________________
Expert in non-working solutions

[kgdrenefort]

Hello,

I do not think that is possible, never heard of multiple mouse pointer, Linux, Windows, Mac or other.

You'll have probably to work around that, depending on your desktop environment, maybe there would be a cool feature doing the «teleportation» of your mouse icon in the middle of another window while hiting some shortcut.

Beside that, I do not see how that would be possible.

Regards,
GASPARD DE RENEFORT Kévin
_________________
Traduction wiki, pour praticiper.
Custom logos/biz card/website.

[Gatsby]

Spanik, here you go:

[logrusx]

Nearly 20 years ago, after Xorg branched off of XFree86, there was an experimental Xorg module for having multiple independent pointers on screen. Maybe it vanished from the Internet or I just can't remember enough to find it, but I found this:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Multi-pointer_X

and this:

https://ao2.it/en/blog/2010/01/19/poor-mans-multi-touch-using-multiple-mice-xorg

There was a demonstration how two people play tic-tac-toe using two different mice with independent pointers.

Best Regards,
Georgi

[kgdrenefort]

My bad then, happy to learn each day, this seems possible :).

Regards,
GASPARD DE RENEFORT Kévin
_________________
Traduction wiki, pour praticiper.
Custom logos/biz card/website.

[Spanik]

[Spanik]

[logrusx]

[Gatsby]

[Gatsby]

[logrusx]

[bunder]

Do both pointers have to be on the same screen, or are you looking for full multi-seat? I haven't heard of anyone actually using a multi-seat setup in at least 10 years, so I'm not actually sure if wayland compositors support it.
_________________

[Spanik]

[logrusx]

[szatox]

I personally love the idea of multipointer gestures.
Feels like something that could really take of in VR, but considering I literally have 4 pointer interfaces connected to a single X-server (track point, stylus and 2 touch pads), and I know a bunch of people who use mice with their laptops that already have touchpads built in, working with both hands might not be that far-fetched anymore, even using only the hardware that is already popular.
_________________
Make Computing Fun Again

[Spanik]

[szatox]

Yeah, I'm not exactly a fan of touchpads either; I mostly use a stylus those days. The point was that basically every laptop comes equipped with one AND many people prefer to use a mouse instead, so it's no longer strange to have multiple controllers connected to a single machine at the same time... And having multiple pointers working with those controllers would be quite in line with my sig
Having multiple keyboards opens new possibilities too, even though current trends are all about doing it over the internet. Unlike good, old times where every single game console would come with 2 sets of controllers.

> but at the office it is set for "right hand use" and at home for "left hand use" in order to use different fingers
Having 2 different mappings sounds confusing, but I do understand the power of small changes to the environment. I've been using the "office" mouse with my weak hand to stop bending my back sideways from leaning on my weak arm. Took stunning 0 effort, and did a pretty good job fixing my posture.
We're getting off topic though, and while I am not in a dire need of multiple pointers right now, I do want to see how it goes. So, if you manage to do any experiments, let us know.
_________________
Make Computing Fun Again