How to remap mouse buttons in Windows 11, free and per app

Can Windows 11 remap mouse buttons without extra software?

Not in any way Microsoft documents on the pages we checked. The one built-in button setting we found is ClickLock, for the left button: open Control Panel › Mouse › Buttons and select Turn on ClickLock. To put a keystroke, a shortcut or a macro on a side button, you need a remapper.

We make mouzeclick, one of the tools on this page. Its section is labelled as ours, and the free routes come first: X-Mouse Button Control, PowerToys, AutoHotkey and your mouse maker's app. We checked every third-party fact below on the maker's own page on 3 November 2026, and each one is linked under Sources.

For a wider list that includes Mac tools, see our roundup of mouse button mapping software.

Which mouse button remapper should I pick on Windows 11?

Pick by the mouse you own and how much setup you will accept. XMBC is a free settings window for standard five-button mice. AutoHotkey suits people happy to write scripts. The maker's app fits if your mouse is on its supported list. Checked on 3 November 2026.

"Not published" means the maker's page we checked does not state it.

How do I remap mouse buttons with X-Mouse Button Control?

Install X-Mouse Button Control, add a profile for the app you want, and give button 4 or 5 a simulated keystroke. It is free for anyone to install and use. It supports Windows 10 and 11, and the installer picks the x64 or x86 build for you.

1. Download the installer or the portable version from the X-Mouse Button Control page. If an older copy is open, the installer closes it for you.
2. XMBC is set to run when you log on to Windows. If you don't want that, turn it off in Task Manager's start-up tab (Windows 8 or later) or in MSConfig.
3. Create an application or window profile, for example one for your editor. By default a profile switches on by itself when the mouse moves over that app, window or screen region.
4. Pick an action for each button. Options include the simulated keystrokes editor, launching an app, clipboard and media controls, screen or window capture, click-drag sticky buttons, timed button actions and Windows virtual desktops.
5. Use chording, where holding one button changes what the others do. For more room, add layers: up to 10 per profile, switched with hotkeys or mouse buttons.

We haven't verified XMBC's user guide, so these steps use only the terms on its download page.

Know its limits before you commit:

• It supports only 5 buttons, because it intercepts the Windows mouse message queue, which itself supports only 5.
• It relies on the standard mouse driver sending the usual button 4 and 5 messages. If your side buttons do nothing by default, XMBC may not be for you. It can still remap the two or three main buttons and the wheel.
• It is a hobby project that isn't tied to any mouse maker and has no guaranteed support. The author fixes bugs that break current features before adding new ones.

Our X-Mouse Button Control setup guide goes deeper on layers and safety. If you need Mac support too, see the X-Mouse Button Control alternative page.

Can PowerToys remap mouse buttons in Windows 11?

Not as Microsoft documents it. The Keyboard Manager page describes remapping keys and shortcuts, not mouse buttons. The one mouse-button tool in PowerToys, Mouse Button Lock, holds a button down rather than changing what it does. PowerToys is still free, open source and useful for the keyboard side of an editing setup.

Remap a keyboard shortcut with Keyboard Manager

1. Open PowerToys and turn on Keyboard Manager. PowerToys has to keep running in the background. If it isn't running, your remaps stop working.
2. Select Remap a shortcut, then Add shortcut remapping.
3. Under Select, enter the shortcut you press. Under To send, enter the shortcut it should become.
4. Name a target application if the remap should work in one app only. With no target, the remap applies across all of Windows.

The rules for shortcuts:

• A shortcut must start with a modifier (Ctrl, Shift, Alt or Win) and end with an action key.
• It can't be longer than four keys, or five for a chord.
• Win+L and Ctrl+Alt+Del are reserved by Windows.
• The Fn key can't be remapped in most cases, but F1 to F12 and F13 to F24 can.

From PowerToys 0.100, new installs open a redesigned editor, with a toggle to switch back to the legacy one.

Hold a button with Mouse Button Lock

Mouse Button Lock is off by default. Once you turn it on, it applies to the right button unless you also tick left or middle. You set two things:

• how long to hold the button before it locks: 200 to 2,200 ms, 1,200 ms by default
• a drag threshold: 0 to 100 px, 5 px by default

For the left button, Microsoft also points to Windows' own ClickLock.

Limits to know:

• Keyboard Manager doesn't work on any password screen.
• It doesn't reach apps running as administrator unless PowerToys also runs as administrator.
• Microsoft says not to use it while gaming, because intercepting key presses affects FPS.
• You currently can't give different keyboards different mappings.
• Mouse Button Lock may not work in games that use raw or exclusive mouse input.

How do I remap mouse buttons with AutoHotkey?

Write a short AutoHotkey script that uses a mouse button as the hotkey and a keystroke as the action, then keep the script running. AutoHotkey v2 is free and open source under the GNU GPLv2, and its site says it supports hotkeys for the keyboard, mouse and joystick. The docs showed version 2.0.31 when we checked.

The v2 docs index links the three pages you need: Remapping keys and buttons, How to write hotkeys and the List of keys, mouse buttons and controller controls. We verified the homepage and that index, not the syntax pages, so this guide doesn't print script lines. Take button names from the official key list.

AutoHotkey also expands abbreviations as you type (hotstrings), and its examples cover clipboard tasks and small GUIs. It is a full scripting language with imperative, object-oriented and command-based styles, so a button can run real logic. The cost is a script you write and maintain yourself.

Using AutoHotkey with Premiere Pro

1. Give the Premiere command a keyboard shortcut inside Premiere. Our guide to changing Premiere Pro keyboard shortcuts covers that part.
2. Make the mouse button send exactly that shortcut in your script.
3. Test it on a copy of a sequence before you trust it on a real edit.

In this setup the script only sends keystrokes, and Premiere responds to them like any key you type.

Two cautions:

• Adobe now calls Premiere Pro simply Adobe Premiere, so newer docs and threads may use either name.
• Test whether your hotkey fires only in Premiere or in every app. The pages we checked don't cover limiting a hotkey to one app, so read the Hotkeys page in the v2 docs before you give your Back button an editing job.

Should I use my mouse maker's app instead?

Yes, if your mouse is on its supported list and you also want the settings only the maker's app reaches, such as sensitivity, lighting or haptics. Each app below sets up its own brand's devices.

Logi Options+

Logi Options+ sets up supported Logitech mice, keyboards and more, on Windows 10 or later and macOS 14 or later.

• Per-app settings. Use presets or set your own actions for apps including Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro. The MX Master 3S comes with predefined settings for Premiere Pro.
• Gestures. Assign them to any mouse button: hold it and move up, down, left or right.
• Actions Ring. An on-screen overlay that sits at the cursor.
• Haptics. Only on the MX Master 4 at the moment.

Logitech's page doesn't state a price. See setting up an MX Master for Premiere Pro, or a Logi Options+ alternative that works with other mouse brands.

Logitech G HUB

1. Open G HUB and click your device on the Home Page to open its features and settings.
2. Open the Assignments tab. The device page also has tabs such as Sensitivity and LIGHTSYNC.
3. Remap the buttons there. Logitech's guide doesn't publish the exact steps inside the tab.

The apps and games profile menu sits at the top of the Home Page, and G HUB can build automatic profiles for games. To upload your own presets, you need a Logi ID. G HUB downloads for Windows and macOS. Its price isn't shown on the pages we checked.

Razer Synapse 4

Synapse remaps buttons, records macros and adds Hypershift: one button that switches on a second set of functions on top of your normal assignments.

• On Windows it needs Windows 11 x86-64 or Windows 10.
• On Mac it is a Preview for macOS 15 Sequoia and later on Apple silicon. Razer doesn't say which features the Preview includes.
• Razer doesn't say whether it works with mice from other brands.

We couldn't verify Microsoft's own page for Mouse and Keyboard Center on 3 November 2026, so it isn't covered here.

Which mouse buttons should a video editor remap first?

Start with Mouse 4 and Mouse 5, the Back and Forward side buttons. If you remap them for your editor only, they keep their usual job in the browser. Leave left and right click alone until you trust your setup.

1. Write down the three or four actions you press most: usually a cut, undo, play or pause, and a one-frame step.
2. Find the keyboard shortcut for each one in your editor. A remapper can only press keys the editor already understands.
3. Put the most frequent action on the side button under your thumb, and undo on the other, so a mistake is always one press away.
4. Use scroll, tilt or a held button for repeating actions such as stepping frames or zooming the timeline, if your tool supports them.
5. Use it for a week of real edits before adding more.

If you outgrow two buttons, the next step is chords, layers (XMBC) or gestures. Gestures give you four directions on one held button without buying a mouse with more buttons.

Where mouzeclick fits (we make it)

mouzeclick is our app. It puts shortcuts, macros, gestures and three wheels on any mouse, per app, from one small app in the tray (Windows) or the menu bar (Mac). There is no driver and no vendor software.

1. Start the free trial: 3 days, no card. The key and the Windows and Mac download links arrive by email.
2. Install the app, paste the key and press each mouse button once. The settings page is then built around the buttons your mouse really has.
3. Pick an app, such as Premiere Pro. Each button has eleven slots: tap, hold and move in four directions, a chord with another button, or hold and scroll.
4. Fill a slot from the 309 built-in shortcuts on Windows, 153 of them for Premiere Pro. You can also record your own shortcut, or a macro of keys, clicks, waits and typed text.
5. Optional: Add editing gestures fills the empty directions. Up plays, down splits, left undoes and right moves one frame forward.

Buttons change the moment you switch windows. Mouse 4 can cut a clip in Premiere, switch tabs in Chrome and paste everywhere else. The three wheels add more:

• Options wheel (F8): 48 favourites per app.
• Orbit switch (F9): your open apps on a wheel.
• Tool wheel (F10 or a held right button): in Premiere Pro and After Effects only.

Read more on Premiere Pro mouse shortcuts, the Premiere Pro and After Effects tools and mouse gestures on Windows.

What runs where:

• The mouse app, the wheels and gestures run on Windows 10 and 11 and on macOS 12 or newer. See the Mac install steps.
• The workspaces, auto, styled and Hinglish captions, Retakes, cloud sync and in-app updates are Windows-only.

The plan is $25 a month, $249 a year, or $499 once for one of the first 100 lifetime keys. Details are in the pricing section.

Where a free tool is the better pick:

• If you want to pay nothing, XMBC, AutoHotkey and PowerToys cost nothing.
• mouzeclick needs an internet connection while it runs. If the connection drops, the shortcuts pause and the mouse acts normally until it returns.
• XMBC has a portable version. AutoHotkey is a full scripting language.
• DPI, polling rate, lighting and battery stay with your mouse maker's app. mouzeclick never touches them.

Why isn't my remapped mouse button working?

Most failures come down to the tool not running, an app running as administrator, a button that sends nothing Windows can see, or two tools fighting over one button. Check them in this order.

1. Is the remapper running? PowerToys stops applying remaps when it isn't running. XMBC starts at logon unless you turned that off. An AutoHotkey script works only while it runs. On Windows, mouzeclick sits in the tray.
2. Is the app running as administrator? PowerToys can't reach those windows unless PowerToys also runs as administrator. On Windows, apps running as administrator also ignore mouzeclick until you pick Restart as administrator in its tray menu.
3. Do buttons 4 and 5 send anything? XMBC needs the standard driver to send the usual 4th and 5th button messages. If yours don't, try the maker's app. In mouzeclick, you press each button once on first run, and the settings page is built around the buttons your mouse really has.
4. Are two tools mapping the same button? Turn the mapping off in one of them, or quit one tool while you test.
5. Does the shortcut exist in the editor? If the button sends a key that isn't assigned in Premiere, nothing happens. Check the editor's shortcut list.
6. Did the connection drop? mouzeclick's shortcuts pause while it is offline and come back when the connection returns.
7. Is it a game? Microsoft advises against Keyboard Manager while gaming, and Mouse Button Lock may fail with raw mouse input.

In mouzeclick, Ctrl+Alt+F12 stops the app at once on Windows if a mapping misbehaves. For hardware-level problems, see mouse side buttons not working.

Questions people ask

Sources

Checked on 2026-11-03. Prices and features change: each link goes to the maker's own page.

1. X-Mouse Button Control (Highrez), download and features
2. AutoHotkey homepage
3. AutoHotkey v2 documentation index
4. Microsoft PowerToys overview
5. PowerToys Keyboard Manager
6. PowerToys Mouse utilities (Mouse Button Lock, ClickLock)
7. Logi Options+ (Logitech)
8. Logitech MX Master 3S
9. Logitech G HUB basics
10. Logitech G HUB download
11. Razer Synapse 4
12. Adobe Premiere product page

Keep reading