Bug 500959

Summary: Ability to bind keys not on the keyboard to extra mouse buttons
Product: [Applications] systemsettings Reporter: Eamonn Rea <eamonnrea>
Component: kcm_mouseAssignee: Plasma Bugs List <plasma-bugs-null>
Status: CONFIRMED ---    
Severity: wishlist CC: cleber.souza.abreu, duha.bugs, natalie_clarius, nate
Priority: NOR    
Version First Reported In: 6.3.2   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: Other   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description Eamonn Rea 2025-03-02 14:14:18 UTC
SUMMARY
This is a feature request rather than a bug.

Plasma currently offers a way to bind keys/shortcuts to Extra Mouse Buttons, but no way to send custom keys/shortcuts that a user might want but that might not be available on their keyboard.

The main use-case for this would be media actions. For example, being able to send Play/Pause actions from one of the extra mouse buttons, as well as Volume Up/Down.

I am not sure if it is best handled as the ability to send the key, or the ability for the Extra Mouse Button to send a specific shortcut. In the latter I mean being able to bind Media Up/Down to a specific keyboard shortcut in System Settings, and then having the ability to trigger that Plasma shortcut itself via the Extra Mouse Buttons, rather than that key/keyboard shortcut.

I was able to bind my top extra mouse buttons to Volume Up/Down via `ratbagctl`, as well as Play/Pause to one of my side extra buttons, but it would be nice to configure it directly from Plasma.

I recognise that perhaps this is not per-se specific to Extra Mouse Buttons but would apply more broadly to how Plasma handles Shortcuts as a whole (i.e. being able to do this in the Keyboard Shortcuts menu).

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Open the "Extra Mouse Buttons" options from the Mouse options in System Settings.
2. When adding a binding, only keys can be sent that are on the keyboard.

OBSERVED RESULT
Plasma offers no way to send custom keys or bind already setup shortcuts as actions for the Extra Mouse Buttons. 

EXPECTED RESULT
It would be nice if Plasma offered a way to send keys that aren't on the keyboard (such as Media Keys) and/or allowed for binding already set up keyboard shortcut actions (those in System Settings' Shortcuts menu) to the Extra Mouse Buttons.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Operating System: Arch Linux 
KDE Plasma Version: 6.3.2
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.11.0
Qt Version: 6.8.2
Graphics Platform: Wayland

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Comment 1 Cleber de Souza Abreu 2025-07-05 02:13:39 UTC Comment hidden (spam)