SpaceNavigator gets mouse control in OS X 10.9 Mavericks

Questions and answers about 3Dconnexion devices on macOS.

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keithnagle
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Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 3:48 am

SpaceNavigator gets mouse control in OS X 10.9 Mavericks

Post by keithnagle »

In previous versions of OS X ( 10.4-10.8 ), connecting a SpaceNavigator with no 3DxWare driver installed meant that generic OS X HID drivers were employed, and the device was only usable by applications that could recognise HID input.
With the new version of OS X (10.9 - Mavericks) connecting a SpaceNavigator with no driver installed still means that Generic OS X drivers are employed, but they seem to have been modified for the new version and now the SpaceNavigator is given mouse pointer control. So, an accidental movement of the SpaceNavigator while plugged into USB causes the mouse to jump around the screen when you don't want it to.

Installing the 3DxWare drivers clears up this problem. However, the application I use does not require the 3Dconnexion drivers, and the multitude of Mac machines (not always mine) that I use it on do not require the 3Dconnexion preference pane or folder of test applications placed in the Applications folder.

Is there a "driver-only" option that would allow me to install a kext and framework on a system without the applications and other plugins bundled with the current 3DxWareMac package? Alternatively, is there a codeless .kext that I could write to tell the Mavericks kernal to stop using generic driver X (the one giving mouse control by default) and use generic driver Y instead.

Any info or help would be greatly appreciated.
Keith.
crobl
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Re: SpaceNavigator gets mouse control in OS X 10.9 Mavericks

Post by crobl »

Hi Keith,

if you want to just have the KEXT to be installed. you need to first install the complete 3DxWareMac and remove all unwanted files manually afterwards.

Please note, that our latest driver will work on OS X 10.9 Mavericks, but you will get a warning dialog after the kext has been loaded, that it is from an unidentified developer.
This issue doesn't have a negative impact on the quality of the KEXT; its just annoying at the moment, but we're working on that!

Lets try:
- Install our latest 3DxWareMac from our website
- Remove the folder /Application/3Dconnexion
- remove /Library/Application Support/SketchUp 2013/Plugins

Code: Select all

/Library/Application Support/SketchUp 2013
/Library/Application Support/SketchUp 2013/SketchUp
/Library/Application Support/SketchUp 2013/SketchUp/Plugins
/Library/Application Support/SketchUp 2013/SketchUp/Plugins/3DxSketchUp.bundle.plugin
/Library/Application Support/SketchUp 2013/SketchUp/Plugins/3DxSketchUp.rb
If you've SketchUp 7 or 8 installed you also need to remove the above listed files and folders for that version as listed above.

- remove the 3DxMaya plugin (if you've installed Maya):

Code: Select all

/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/<mayaver>
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/<mayaver>/icons
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/<mayaver>/plug-ins
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/<mayaver>/plug-ins/3DxMaya.bundle
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/<mayaver>/scripts
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/icons
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/icons/3Dx_Pivot.png
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/icons/3DxLogo_200x90.bmp
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/plug-ins
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/plug-ins/3DxMayaResources.bundle
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/scripts
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/scripts/C3DxButtonEditor.mel
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/scripts/C3DxControlPanel.mel
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/scripts/C3DxMapping copy.mel
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/scripts/C3DxMapping.mel
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/scripts/C3DxMatrix.mel
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/scripts/C3DxView.mel
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/scripts/MagellanStartup.mel
/Users/Shared/Autodesk/maya/scripts/usersetup.mel
- remove 3DxPhotoshop (if you've installed Photoshop):

Code: Select all

/Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS<PSVersion>/Plug-ins/
/Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS<PSVersion>/Plug-ins//.DS_Store
/Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS<PSVersion>/Plug-ins//3Dconnexion
/Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS<PSVersion>/Plug-ins//3Dconnexion/3DxPhotoshopCS6.plugin
Finally:
- remove the 3Dconnexion preference pane: /Library/PreferencePanes/3Dconnexion.prefPane

Tip:
Do not delete it - move somewhere else. Restart your system and see if you've the desired effect with just the KEXT, which you'll have now.
If the cursor motion is still there, put the prefPane back in place and check once more with a reboot.

Please let me know what your results are.

Regards,

Chrisitan
keithnagle
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2013 3:48 am

Re: SpaceNavigator gets mouse control in OS X 10.9 Mavericks

Post by keithnagle »

Hi,
Thanks for the information. After following the steps you provided the SpaceNavigator no longer takes mouse control from the OS when it is plugged in. However, it also does not communicate with any other software. After some experimentation I found that the 3DconnexionHelper needs to run in order for the signals to be sent to my software. If I copy 3DconnexionHeper to the desktop and start it at any point before or after my own software has started I will automatically get signals. I can then terminate the 3DconnexionHelper process and continue to get signals successfully. However, if I disconnect and reconnect the SpaceNavigator and restart my software, I need to start the 3DconnexionHelper again in order to get the signals moving again.
It doesn't seem to matter where this application is located, so I guess I could add it to the folder containing my software and add code to my software that launches the 3dconnexionHelper when my software starts.
I had rather hoped that there was a 'driver only' installation package available, so that I didn't have to go through so much manual configuration for each machine that I run my software on. However, if such a package is not available, I will go with this method for the time being.
Regards,
Keith.
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