What is the best mouse for SketchUp?

[Dave Zellers]

What features do you folks who use SketchUp a lot look for in a good mouse?

[Justin Ludwig]

I use a Logitech Anywhere MX. I think the main concern is ability to set the mouse buttons for shortcuts. I only dabble in SU, but my mouse has done me well for years.

[Morey St. Denis]

Engineering professionals who make a career utilizing Computer Aided Design with various analytical visualization tools often do not choose a mouse at all... A mouse usually requires a mouse pad and a cleared level area of desktop for that pad and upon which to rest the elbow or forearm. If you care to give it further thought, you too may eventually come to the conclusion that desired smooth precision at the crucial hardware / human interface (ergonomics) can be impaired relying primarily upon gross motor muscle movements of larger muscle groups powering the shoulder, elbow & wrist. For dexterity, quick positioning accuracy and pointing precision, where large amounts of physical work are not being exerted; sensible humans employ the fingers, such as with gripping, writing, or "tweaking" manual assemblies.

Suggest you might try giving up the mouse and get yourself a trackball with thumb scroll wheel and multiple "click" buttons on the periphery. No mouse pad is needed and a trackball can rest most anywhere; including the lap or upper leg while seated, or on a work surface otherwise cluttered by tools, small parts or reference materials. Casual users and non-technical persons usually fall into the "mouse trap" because a cheap mouse is provided free with most desktop computers and even professional work station purchases. Technicians & engineers often throw these away and plug in our trusty trackball instead. Even gamers quickly dismiss a conventional mouse device and upgrade to a joystick controller. Better trackballs boast an optical sphere sized about like a billiard ball, though many PC versions can indeed be smaller. For 3D manipulation with rapid visualization of complex contours and 3D assemblies, we go even further and use a very capable device known as the "SpaceBall".

[Dave Richards]

I've been using SketchUp daily for more than 11 years. I've tried a number of different mice and other pointing devices including trackballs and other non-conventional devices and have returned to a fairly basic wheel mouse. Left and right buttons along with a button under the center mouse wheel are the most important. The wheel and center mouse button (in conjunction with Shift) are used for navigation, the left button for selecting and drawing and the right one to access the context menus. Keyboard shortcuts are used to access many tools and features.

The mouse I bought to use with my current PC has a couple of extra buttons. I have them assigned to Undo and Redo. I've never found any need for more buttons on the mouse though. As far as the space required for moving the mouse, I work with it in a space about 5 inches square. Not much more space than would be consumed by a trackball. It doesn't require large or gross muscle movement.

Some people like navigating devices like the Space Navigator. I've used one--have two of them but they are stored away--but didn't like it because it took my left hand away from the keyboard and takes up extra real estate on my desk.

[Dave Zellers]

Interesting. I guess I thought maybe lots of programable buttons would be useful but since the tools are handled through the keyboard, not so much I guess.

Thanks for the replies.

[Dave Richards]

Between keyboard shortcut s and toolbar buttons, you should have access to any tools you need.

[Dick Latshaw]

Don't know about SketchUp, but most of the Photoshop folks use pen graphics tablets, usually Wacom.

[Dave Richards]

Dick, you're right. I have an older Wacom Cintiq 21" monitor/tablet as my second display. It is amazing useful when I'm editing images. I tried it with SketchUp. It's clumsy accessing the keyboard and I found the buttons on the stylus difficult to use for anything useful.

[Steve Baumgartner]

For the most part, I work similarly to what Dave has described. Some time ago I got a cheap USB numeric keypad with a space key that I put where I can enter values with my left hand. A little clumsy (I'm right-handed), but faster than constantly letting go of the mouse. With that and a suite of keyboard shortcuts, the one thing I might program onto an extra mouse button is the comma key. It is all the way across the keyboard on the right, which is just as awkward as constantly letting go of the mouse to type things.

[Sam Murdoch]

What Dave Richards says +1. I use a Logitech wireless mouse Model #M505 and it works flawlessly. I think the 505 is an older model but the point is that you do need a scroll wheel and 2 buttons but not anything else.

[Mike Stelts]

I have a question for Justin Ludwig. Did you figure out how to use the Anywhere MX mouse for SketchUp's Orbit function? I'm stumped.

[Joe Butler]

I spent 20± years using AutoCAD. If it was out there I tried it. My favorite was the table. But the company stopped making them. Sorry I can't remember the name. I then with through a progression of mice. I'm retire now, but I did have a design/drafting company that I ran out of the house. I still use Autocad 2008, getting a little old (knock on wood), but is still working. Like a lots of us old cad geezers my joint aren't as flexible as they once were. I found a mouse that instead of your hand being flat, your hand is like your going to shake someones hand. It's a Evoluent Verticalmose 2​. It has four buttons and a wheel. I'm happy with t Just my $0.02 . . .JoeB.

[Dave Richards]

I have a question for Justin Ludwig. Did you figure out how to use the Anywhere MX mouse for SketchUp's Orbit function? I'm stumped.

I'm not Justin but I play one on TV.

You need to go to the Mouse settings in the Control Panel and change the setting for the center mouse button to "Middle button".

[glenn bradley]

There must be a fundamental difference in trackball versus mouse users. I find trackballs (including the high end ones) to be the most useless pointing device known to man. My father loves them and will use nothing else. My father was a doctor and has dead-steady hands. I have (and have nearly always had) a bit a tremulous activity in my hands that I cannot control; very minor but, enough. This explains why I didn't follow dad into medicine but, also explains that the lack of accuracy on release of a trackball is a problem for me. I can't seem to lift my hand/finger off the ball without moving it. Not the trackball's fault ;-) A regular old mouse works best for me. If I am doing highly accurate things in a drawing I use the keyboard commands for set measurements, distances, etc.

[Dave Richards]

Glenn, I'm with you. I hate trackballs. Everyone of our anesthesia machines has a computer mounted on the side and every one of those has a trackball so I get plenty of experience with them. They do make sense in that environment because there is no room to move a mouse and they are easier to clean but I think they are clumsy to use.