Questions

How to use mouse buttons in Blender on a Mac

Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreInputConfig is completely free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.

Blender navigates with the middle mouse button, and on a Mac without one you have two good options. Blender's own setting, Emulate 3 Button Mouse, turns Option and left drag into a middle drag. Or a mapper such as InputConfig, the free Mac app I make, can hold the middle button for you from a side button, so a real mouse gets orbit, pan and zoom under the thumb.

The navigation facts come from the navigation page of the Blender manual and the Input preferences page of the Blender manual, which I read on October 21, 2026. If you drive Blender from a controller, the closest page is a game controller as a 3D mouse. This page is about the mouse.

On this page: 10 sections
  1. What Blender and macOS give a mouse
  2. Find out what each button sends
  3. Hold the middle button from a side button
    1. Step 1: Scan the side button
    2. Step 2: Give it a held middle click
    3. Step 3: Add pan and zoom
  4. Macros and multi-step jobs
  5. Hold, repeat, tap twice and switch by app
  6. Layouts for the mouse you have
  7. If a button does nothing in Blender
  8. What it cannot do
  9. The short version
  10. Questions

What Blender and macOS give a mouse

Blender's manual lists the 3D viewport controls like this: orbit with a middle button drag, pan with Shift and a middle drag, and zoom with the wheel or Control and a middle drag. It also lists Shift Control and a middle drag for dolly, Home to frame everything, and the numpad keys for fixed views.

For a mouse with no middle button, Preferences has Emulate 3 Button Mouse. The manual says it works by holding Alt and left drag, which is Option on a Mac, and that a Modifier setting lets you choose Alt or the OS key, which is Command on a Mac. The manual notes that the OS key choice has the advantage of not clashing with existing Alt and middle shortcuts. It also warns that Alt and left click are used for some operations, so turning emulation on takes those away. The manual adds that some touchpads support a three-finger tap for the middle button.

A laptop without a numpad has a second setting, Emulate Numpad, which makes the number row act as the numpad. Both settings are free and built in, and a mapper adds the third option: a real button that holds the middle click.

Find out what each button sends

A mouse button reaches the Mac as Left click, Right click, Middle click or Button 4 and up. Press Scan, then click the button. If Scan names a key instead of a mouse button, the mouse is sending a key, and the fix is on F13 to F19 on a Mac.

ButtonHow it usually reportsA good Blender job
Left click and right clickLeft click and Right clickLeave them. Blender uses them for selecting and for menus.
Wheel pressMiddle clickOrbit, if it is a real middle click. A Magic Mouse has none.
Side buttonsButton 4 and Button 5A held middle click, and Shift with a held middle click.
Thumb grid or extra buttonsButton 6 and higherControl with a held middle click for zoom, Home, frame selected.
Tilt wheelSideways scrollRoll the view, or step through numpad views.
DPI or profile buttonOften nothing the Mac can readNothing. If Scan hears no press, no app can read it.

Hold the middle button from a side button

InputConfig can hold a mouse button for as long as you hold another button, and a row can press several outputs together. That is the whole trick, and it is the same one the controller page uses.

Step 1: Scan the side button

  • You: Add a row, set the device to This Mac's mouse or trackpad, the input to Mouse and the kind to Button, then press Scan and click the side button.
  • InputConfig: Names it, for example Button 4.
  • Check: The row shows the button's name.

Step 2: Give it a held middle click

  • You: Set the output to Mouse Button and pick Middle click. Open the row's Options and tick Block the button's own action.
  • InputConfig: Holds the middle button while you hold the side button, and the Mac's own mouse keeps moving the pointer.
  • Check: In Blender, hold the side button and move the mouse over the 3D viewport. The view orbits.
Two InputConfig rows: one sends Mouse Button 2: Middle at the pointer, and the other sends Keyboard Key Shift plus Mouse Button 2: Middle, each noted with orbit or pan.
Figure 1. The held middle click rows from the controller page. Your mouse rows have the same outputs, with a side button as the input: one sends Middle click for orbit, and the other sends Shift and Middle click for pan.

Step 3: Add pan and zoom

  • You: Add a second row on another button with two outputs: Keyboard Key Shift and Mouse Button Middle click, added with the plus button. Add a third row with Keyboard Key Control and Mouse Button Middle click.
  • InputConfig: Presses the outputs together and holds them together.
  • Check: Hold the second button and drag. The view pans. Hold the third and drag, and it zooms.

I have not tried this in Blender myself, so the first test is to hold the button and watch the view. If the pointer moves but the view does not, the row is not holding, and the ladder below covers it.

Macros and multi-step jobs

Blender's view keys are single presses, so a macro is mostly for a chain you repeat. The keys come from the manual's navigation page:

  • Frame selected, then step around. A tap on the numpad period key frames the selection, a short wait, then a tap on numpad 4 or numpad 6 turns the view one step.
  • Home as a reset. Home frames every object in the scene. It is a one-step row and a good tap action for a side button.
  • Level the horizon. Shift numpad 4 and Shift numpad 6 roll the view one way or the other, which fixes a tilted view in two presses.
InputConfig's macro editor with Run a sequence of steps ticked and numbered steps that hold Command, tap a letter, release Command and wait between steps.
Figure 2. A macro's numbered steps with waits between them. A Blender macro has the same shape, with the keys from the manual.

A macro that only changes the view cannot damage the file. Home, then a fixed view, is the cheapest way I know to get unlost.

Hold, repeat, tap twice and switch by app

  • A tap and a hold. A tap on a side button can be Home, and a hold can be the held middle click. A quick tap sends the normal output, and holding past a time you set sends something else.
  • Repeat keys while held. For the numpad steps, this makes a held button keep stepping the view.
  • Block the button's own action. Available for the middle button and the side buttons, so Blender and other apps stop seeing the side button while the preset runs.
InputConfig's Automation and Gaming Utilities section with an Activate when these apps are in front list holding one app and a note that automatic switching is off globally.
Figure 3. The Activate when these apps are in front list. Add Blender here, and a note says automatic switching is off globally until you turn on Switch presets when the front app changes in Settings, Advanced.

Only one preset runs at a time, so each app gets its own preset, and the one for Blender starts when Blender comes forward. The emergency stop is Control Option Command period. A side button that holds the middle click should only do that in a 3D app.

Layouts for the mouse you have

  • A mouse without a middle button. Use Emulate 3 Button Mouse in Blender, or give a side button the held middle click. The second is easier on the wrist.
  • A thumb grid mouse. Orbit, pan and zoom on the first three, then frame selected, Home and the numpad views on the others. The MMO mouse page covers the grid.
  • A trackball. The ball is the pointer, so held middle clicks on the big buttons make it a natural orbit tool.
  • A Magic Mouse. It has no real middle button, so Blender's emulation or a separate mouse is the answer. See Magic Mouse buttons and how to middle click on a Mac.

Orbit first, then pan, then zoom.

If a button does nothing in Blender

Climb this ladder, smallest step first:

  1. Check the preset is on. Click Activate, and make sure Blender is the app the preset follows.
  2. Check Accessibility. In System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility.
  3. Turn off Emulate 3 Button Mouse. If it is on, Option and left drag does the middle drag, and a held middle click from a button can confuse the test. Try one method at a time.
  4. Check the Scan. If the button scans as a key, set it to F13 to F20 in the maker's software first.
  5. Quit the maker's software. Logi Options+ and similar apps can take a button over.
  6. Watch it arrive. Open the Live Visualizer, pick Mouse, and hold the button. If the entry lights, the Mac receives it and InputConfig can use it.

What it cannot do

  • Tell two mice apart. Every mouse connected counts as one device.
  • Move the pointer for you with a mouse button. It can move the pointer with a controller stick, and the mouse keeps doing that itself here.
  • Change pointer speed. Use the Mac's settings, the maker's app, or LinearMouse, Mac Mouse Fix or SteerMouse.
  • Replace a 3D mouse. A 3D mouse is a separate device. Blender's manual covers it as an NDOF device.

The short version

  • No middle button. Tick Emulate 3 Button Mouse in Blender's Input preferences, and use Option and left drag.
  • A real mouse. Give a side button a held Middle click, and Shift or Control with it for pan and zoom.
  • Follow the app. Add Blender under Activate when these apps are in front.

A side button that holds the middle click turns any mouse with two thumb buttons into a three button one.

Questions

How do I middle click in Blender on a Mac?

Turn on Emulate 3 Button Mouse in Blender's Input preferences and use Option and left drag, or give a mouse side button a held Middle click in InputConfig.

What does Emulate 3 Button Mouse do in Blender?

The manual says it lets pointing devices without a middle button work by holding Alt and left click, which is Option on a Mac. It can also use the OS key, and it takes some Alt and left click shortcuts away.

Can a mouse side button orbit in Blender?

Yes. Set a side button to the output Mouse Button, Middle click, and tick Block the button's own action. Hold the button and move the mouse to orbit.

How do I pan and zoom in Blender with a mouse?

Pan is Shift and a middle drag, and zoom is the wheel or Control and a middle drag, according to the manual. Put Shift and Middle click, and Control and Middle click, on two more buttons.

Can I use Blender on a Mac laptop without a numpad?

Yes. Turn on Emulate Numpad in the Input preferences and the number row acts as the numpad.

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Download InputConfig on the Mac App StoreCompletely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.

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