I have a Logitech G502 mouse, and it has some extra buttons for gaming.
It came with some Logitech software that allows me to assign various keystrokes (and multi-key combos) to these extra keys.
To the left of the normal “left mouse button”, there are two extra buttons. I am currently using the Logitech software to assign F1 and F2 to those keys, for testing IVC comms when I’m in a MP flight, and we’re transitioning from Discord to IVC.
A little farther down on the left side of the mouse, there are two more extra buttons. I am using the Logitech software to assign [Alt Capital letter “I”] to one of those buttons. That performs the idle cutoff in the jet. When I’m ramp-starting, I push that button at the same moment that I slide my Cougar throttle forward over the rear idle detent. I have assigned Alt+F9 to the other button, to start and stop screen recordings with my EVGA graphics card.
However, if I am in Discord for a MP flight, I use Discord’s settings so the last-mentioned button is the push-to-talk button for Discord chat, rather than for taking screen recordings.
There is a button I can push with my thumb, and I use the Logitech software to assign the letter G to that button. That’s how I put my landing gear up or down.
You might wonder why I mapped F1 and F2 to mouse buttons, since they’re right in front of me on my keyboard. It’s because when I’m in the sim, I have an iPad propped over the keyboard, running the BMS ICP DED Pro program. This causes a large portion of my keyboard to be inacessible. Happily, though, I can just manage to reach under the edges of the iPad to push Shift+P to freeze the sim, or Esc-then-E to end a training mission.
So, all of the assigning of mouse buttons happens in the Logitech software, rather than in BMS or the Alternative Launcher. With the one exception being the re-assigning of one of the buttons as the Discord PTT button, if I’m going to do a MP flight.
I say all this as though I were some sort of MP guru, but I’m not. I’ve done one flight with Stalker so far, and the comms worked well. Stalker and System helped me set up IVC, and all these various buttons worked fine. I am looking forward to more MP flights. My hopes for this week are fading somewhat (work stuff), but I hope to use these buttons for Discord and IVC again soon 🙂