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Ubuntu - Mouse - Map Mouse Buttons to Arbitrary Functions

There are various options that can be used to allow a mouse button click to action an arbitrary function.

These include:

xbindkeys allows you to map any mouse (or keyboard) event to some program.
xautomation provides the xte program; which can generate fake input, including keystrokes and mouse-clicks.
xvkbd can send a keyboard key signal or mouse click to other programs.
xdotool can simulate keyboard input and mouse activity, move and resize windows, etc.

Install xbindkeys

sudo apt install xbindkeys

NOTE: Xbindkeys is a program that allows to bind commands to certain keys or key combinations on the keyboard.

sudo apt install xautomation

NOTE: This provides the xte program; which can generate fake input, including keystrokes and mouse-clicks.

xbindkeys --defaults > $HOME/.xbindkeysrc

NOTE: The $HOME/.xbindkeysrc file could also be created manually.

Edit ~/.xbindkeysrc.

"/usr/bin/xte 'mouseclick 1' 'mouseclick 1' &"
b:8 + Release

NOTE: The format of this file is a series of paired lines.

The first line is a command to be executed for an event;
- The quotation marks (“”) around the command is required.
The second line is the event description.

The first mouse button (left) is called b:1, the second (right) b:2 and so forth.

Here, the xte component of xautomation to send events directly to the input handler.

Here are some examples of additional entries.

# Back changed to Copy
"xte 'keydown Control_L' 'key C' 'keyup Control_L'"
  b:8
 
# Forward
"xte 'keydown Alt_L' 'key Right' 'keyup Alt_L'"
  b:9

NOTE: This maps:

Back button: 8
- When Button 8 on the mouse is pressed, send a CTRL-C followed by a Key up.

Forward button: 9
- When Button 9 on the mouse is pressed, send a ALT followed by a Key up.

One approach is to create a shell script that performs the Mouse Button mapping:

echo "xinput --set-button-map 21 3 2 1" > leftmouseremap.sh

Give it executable permission:

chmod +x leftmouseremap.sh

NOTE: Either run the script manually, or configure it to automatically run on system reboot.

Remember to configure 'xbindkeys' to run automatically on system startup too if needed:
- '/usr/bin/xbindkeys'