SideTrack1.6

I like the features that Sidetrack offers, however I wish I could also have the option to keep some or all of the Apple features (two-finger right-click, two-finger scrolling especially). (Demoed this on a MacBook). The pointer tracking also seemed a bit erratic to me compare to when I switched back to the default OS X trackpad pref pane. Otherwise it's very cool and if the above-mentioned features were available I would most likely register.

Very nice application, unfortunately it can't do two finger gestures, so bye bye two finger scrolling in installed MacBooks. Actually the best of this software in my opinion is touch pad corners shortcuts, you can make a corner to activate dashboard and so on, Apple should update the drivers in older macs, I bet a lot of multiple gestures found in the new MacBook Aluminum can be made in the old MacBook also! Overall it´s great if you are ready to loose two ginger scrolling!

I did a search for FFScroll on Macupdate but came back with nothing? Does it have an option to use a trackpap TAP as a right-click?

An essential piece of software for Mac laptops. It's been painful using Leopard without it. Apple's similar features in recent laptops pale in comparison to the ease-of-use that SideTrack offers. The developer is very clear that it should be considered an unstable beta. That being said, instal went smoothly and I haven't experienced any system instability yet.

An absolutely must-have utility; run, don't walk to get this. When I had (ultimately minor) configuration issues with 1.5 during its beta phase the developer always took the time to answer my questions. I know Alex has worked long and hard on this release, so I congratulate him on finally getting 1.5 shipped.

great, many thanks!

Is there any way to get this working on 10.5? Is there an update likely? Or will we have to wait until 10.5's official release? XCode is so much harder when I have to manually scroll :(

I'm torn on SideTrack. On the one hand, I prefer the scrolling behavior of iScroll2 (two fingers, anywhere on the trackpad). I find it difficult to engage SideTrack with edge only scrolling, I have to make the scroll area large to reliably engage it, but then I hit it accidentally sometimes. For me, the iScroll behavior is much easier. On the other hand, SideTrack has much better tap mapping functions. I love that I can map the right upper corner to right click, the left upper corner to middle click (open browser in new tab), and the lower left corner to command-w (close tab in browser). I wish I could combine the two...

I like the features that Sidetrack offers, however I wish I could also have the option to keep some or all of the Apple features (two-finger right-click, two-finger scrolling especially). (Demoed this on a MacBook). The pointer tracking also seemed a bit erratic to me compare to when I switched back to the default OS X trackpad pref pane. Otherwise it's very cool and if the above-mentioned features were available I would most likely register.

WitchMD, the sleep problems you describe are definitely not normal. I'd appreciate it if you would contact me at the support addrees in the SideTrack ReadMe so I can get some additional information about your system. Thanks, Alex (SideTrack developer)

i tried this and i really really liked it since i'm used to having a right clcik button (previous pc user) but then i noticed that my ibook G4 1.42 ghz wouldn't sleep with the lid on when i schedule it to sleep or when i manually put it to sleep. i didn't know sidetrack was causing the problem until i checked the console log and saw sidetrack being mentioned there. so i uninstalled sidetrack and now evrything is working fine, ibook sleeps normally again. too bad, cause i really like side track.

Very nice app, it's awesome to basically have a multi button mouse/trackpad now! The one thing I really would ike though is if SideTrack supported the two finger scrolling in the newer powerbooks.

Been using this program since the first public beta, and purchased it right away when it went shareware. Worth every penny. Was a bit skitterish at first, as with all first-time releases, but as of 1.2.1, it seems to be rock solid. I haven't found any problems with the program as of yet on my 1.5 Ghz G4 PowerBook running 10.4.2.

Great little software, but WHY does it use a custom installer program? Apple's installer package format works just fine. The more developers that use these custom installer programs that require authentication, the more blasé users will be about inputting their admin password, and the easier it will be for Mac virus/trojan writers to obtain their goals all due to dumb design by well-meaning software devs. Just use apple's installer packages! The tools to make them come with xCode! It's all free!

To the anonymous poster below... I'm sorry to hear you experienced problems with SideTrack, however, it appears you didn't contact me with any bug reports or log information. As of SideTrack 1.2.1 all reported crash issues have been resolved, so if you are still experiencing a problem I will need some more information from you. Remember I can't always reproduce and fix bugs that aren't reported to me, and an anonymous posting on MacUpdate doesn't give me enough information to proceed. Thanks, Alex (SideTrack's developer)

Loved the product, but my computer kept crashing while it was asleep. Checked the logs and Sidetrack was causing some sort of kernel panic when I tried to wake my computer from sleep. I eventually moved to iSroll2, more stable, less features.

Instant addiction! I use a mouse for photo editing, but I couldn't live without SideTrack the rest of the day.

I had tried the beta version, liked SideTrack so much that I downloaded and registered 1.1.2! Just yesterday I had wanted to upgrade to version 1.2 and thought I needed my registration code, but could not find it...ugh...I thought. I sent an email plea for help and the developer was lightning fast in responding! WOW! Talk about 5 stars for amazing support! As with running the driver under 10.3.9, SideTrack runs flawlessly under 10.4.2, and version 1.2 adds even more to a great, intuitive set of options for making my trackpad use quick, efficient, and more enjoyable! Best regards to the developer! - James (SideTrack v. 1.2 / OSX 10.4.2 / iBook G3 700mhz)

Some food for thought for those with the latest trackpads: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20050808165343661

In response to the anonymous report of a kernel panic, I'm not aware of any panic issues with SideTrack 1.2. I can say that none of the beta testers had this issue so it is likely to be a conflict with some other software on your machine. If you experienced a problem with SideTrack 1.2 please contact me (the developer) at basilisk at foobox.net This address is also in the SideTrack ReadMe. Reporting problems on MacUpdate anonymously doesn't give me the information I need to isolate and fix bugs. Thanks, Alex

Had a bad kernal panic after installing 1.2. I would get a restart into an unending blue screen. I had to reboot in safe mode to set things right. I would definetly like to see a 1.2.1 release.

i'm crippled without the ability to tap for right click and was getting rather used to the top left corner being "back" in my browser. my new powerbook is fine but really until sidetrack (or anything written properly as sidetrack) is updated, i think i'll actually use my 1.5 instead. why is this not a simple change within the system to decide what kind of click a tap would make?

works great, can't live without it now. worth every penny.

Still $15? Worth much more!!!! Great product!

This is an incredible product. Many thanks to the developer. (I'll be buying this one!) I only wish something like this exists for OS9. If it does, I've never found it.

I can see why the author found it necessary to post a disclaimer on his own web site... obviously people simply cannot read and will insist on installing software on unsupported hardware. Sidetrack does exactly what it's supposed to do, on *supported* hardware.

Tried to live without it. Only lasted 5 minutes before I coughed up the money.

I'm not sure where the Anonymous poster gets his information, but its certainly not from me. As I've indicated on my site, I have never said that "two-finger" scrolling is impossible. The issue is that Apple's marketing materials indicate that it is _patented_. Until the legal issues regarding the patent are clarified SideTrack may not be able to offer two finger scrolling. As for what SideTrack offers that iScroll does not, a partial list includes: - Corner taps for mouse button and keystroke emulation (configurable per application) - Per-user preferences and Fast User switching compatibility. - Multiple acceleration curves (not just a speed slider). - Extra controls for accidental input filtering while typing. Alex

This should be supplied with PowerBooks and iBooks! The range of options is huge and it is more powerful than any PC touchpad utilities I've seen. The big wins are easy calibration (takes 30 seconds maximum), pointer acceleration, drag and scroll in either axis (with different speeds for vertical and horizontal scrolling, if required) and emulation of up to six mouse buttons; no need any more to use the Ctrl key.

As an original beta user, I have to say I don't think I would want my Powerbook without ST. Thanks so much! That said, I still have to pony up the $ for the official release, which is more than worth it.

Up to 1.0.1: perfect! 1.1: broken!

D'oh, I already paid for this AND Lazy Mouse. It is a great program, though.

I think sidetrack is a very clever piece of software. I'm totally addicted to the scroll wheel simulation - when I use somone else's machine or an app that doesn't support scroll wheel scrolling I can't help trying to scroll with the trackpad over and over again. The control-click with trackpad tap feature is also nice. (lower left corner works best for me - upper left and I hit it by accident sometimes) Sidetrack hasn't caused me the least bit of grief as far as bugs or crashes as long as I've used it. (1g PB 12", OSX 10.3.n)

Never had a problem here, but after hearing the authors polite and dedicated response to a rather rude user, I was prompted to purchase this program. I have enjoyed it. One option missing however, it would be nice to be able to assign keystrokes and button presses to taps on the trackpad. Ex: Tap the bottom right corner, have it do a command-click.

I'm a very happy SideTrack user who has NEVER had a kernal panic related to the extension. So, of course be wary if you wish, but I can whole-heartedly recommend this wonderful piece of software. My Powerbook would be lost without it!

For me, trackpad scrolling has become second nature, and is much more comfortable than using the trackpad button, and quicker than drag lock -- it's the trackpad equivalent to a scroll wheel, and is a very welcome addition, indeed. While it has other options, for mapping the left/right click, and other behaviour, one thing I'd like to see is right click when holding down the button after a delay.

This is great software. At first I was a little annoyed after the beta period when the developer wanted $15. After thinking about it, however, that's not very much money and sidetrack is first-rate software. Face it - it's one of those things that you can't live without once you've used it for a while. A utility like that is easily worth $15.

I view it like this: if someone told me they could remove my current track pad and replace it with one that scrolls vertically and horizontally and provide hot corners that can act as a right mouse button or function as any other keyboard key and could do it for $15, I'd do it. That's what Sidetrack has done for me so far! I love this program. It's hard to believe that people will go and easily spend $15 on a meal they will forget in an hour but will complain that $15 is too high for an app that will last

Since this is how ugly rumors get started, I should clarify... SideTrack "evolved" from ScrollPad only in the sense that it is based on the same absolute mode packet data ScrollPad uses. ST is a ground-up rewrite of the trackpad driver with the intent of eliminating the limitations of ScrollPad and other AppleADBMouse derivatives. ST shares no code with either ScrollPad or the Apple trackpad driver (AppleADBMouse), and Heiko (ScrollPad's author) is a ST tester. Alex

Wow. Great software yet many people seem to be hung up on the price they think is too high. One poster even wrote: I will be writing a request to Apple asking them to enable this feature in Tiger instead. If the rest of you that want this but don't feel that $15 is a reasonable price, I suggest you do the same. Who knows, if they get a lot of feedback they might enable it. So you want to put a small developer with a great product at a fair price out of business. Amazing. $15 divided by 52 weeks means the product costs 28.8 cents per week for one year. Assuming your time is worth $10/hr (equals 16.67 cents per minute) to you or your employer, then all you have to do is save 2 minutes per week by using this product and you have come out ahead.

I agree with the overpricing... If it would cost 5 to 10 dollars I would by it for sure because I like.. But 15 dollars just is too much... I wonder how many copies did you already sell for 15 dollars? Lower the price for bigger sales, it will work, I tell you...

First, it is a great utility for PowerBook and iBook users. Thanks, but... Second, Anonymous sounds a lot like a developer justifying the price of this utility Finally, this is over priced by $8. I would gladly pay $7 for this utility but the trackpad and scroll bars are not so far away that I would pay $15 for this utility.

Version 0.9 worked flawlessly for me, but the 1.0.1 installer refuses to install. After I authenticate for the installer, I get a simple error saying that SideTrack could not be installed; the console log says basically the same thing, without any explanation. I've already tried manually uninstalling the old version; the installer won't install. I've tried copying the files from the installer package directly into the locations listed in the read me; after a restart, the system refuses to load the SideTrack kernel extension. Is anyone else having this problem? I'm on a TiBook G4, OS X v10.3.2, 768MB memory... thanks :)

Hey .. you guys are being a bit silly. How long do you think the utility took to make, tweak, debug, etc ... and you don't think it's worth $15? I mean, at 5 dollars an hour, that's three hours .. do you feel like over time, using the side track instead of hunting for the scroll bar will save you at least that much time/frustration? Really ... if you don't like the dialog box, try writing your own version that will suit your needs and see if this utility isn't worth 3 hours @ less than minimum wage. Does it work as advertised? Yes. Does it crash your system? No. Is there any other software that can do this for you? no. If you're going to post something, at least let us know how well/not well the software works .. what you like, what you don't like ... the price information is made public before you even d/l it. By the way, the software works great for me, never had any problems with it. Oh .. happy holidays.

I'd love if there was a side track light that just put a vertical scroll bar along the right side of my pad, but cost a little less. I do agree that this is a great product, but I still feel that $15 is a bit high for adding that single function. I'll probably end up paying the $15 once I get sick of the pop-up, but I don't know that I'll feel that it was worth it.

SideTrack is a wonderful app, up there with QuickSilver and NewsFire, all programs that make OS X a blast to use. The novelty of using it for free for the past 6 months was a great thing, but the developer maintained all along that it would be free only during testing, and now that the revelry is over, it astonishes me how unwilling the same people who, only weeks ago, acclaimed this fantastic software are in coughing up 15 bucks for it. The developer has a stellar product here that people will pay for, and in that position I think most people, including myself, would want to be compensated for their work. I'm a student myself. $15 is very reasonable. It's absurd to take something like this for granted as if it's your privilege to use it for free indefinitely. Independent developers and shareware are GOOD things. If they can't find enough of a market on this platform, the result will be fewer choices for Mac users. It's already happened to Panic Software with Audion and to Proteron when Apple built almost an exact clone of their LiteSwitchX task manager into Panther. I'll be buying this tomorrow, and I really hope that others reach the same conclusion. SideTrack is worth $15.

I thought this was indispensible until someone asked me to pay $15 for it. $5 I would have paid, $7 I would have paid, and I'd have been glad to. $10 I'd have paid, but grudgingly. $15 - no way. Let's pray this doesn't happen to MenuMeters too.

$15 dollars for such a small thing is absurd. I'd consider paying $5 tops. I liked it and used it while it was free but I will not be using anymore. I like supporting small time developers and I usually buy my shareware if I use it enough to justify the cost. Sidetrack adds a nice feature to the trackpad but $15 is excessive in my opinion. I will be writing a request to Apple asking them to enable this feature in Tiger instead. If the rest of you that want this but don't feel that $15 is a reasonable price, I suggest you do the same. Who knows, if they get a lot of feedback they might enable it.

This program was awesome... ...when it was free I might have paid perhaps $5 for it, but $15??? No way. I'll wait for some other developer to release a free utility. This program is nice, but it would be a lot nicer if it were free (as it was in the beta stages). It does something simple, so I don't see how the developer can justify the hefty price (it costs MORE than an external two-button scroll-wheel mouse!).

i started using the application on version 0.9 and i quiet liked n more it. but it does have bugs, very bad to use while playing game and sometimes takes about 5 seconds to respond when waking for sleep at one point the driver did cause me to have to restart to get my track pad functioning properly. i have got hooked and i do quiet like it, but 15 dollars for something so simple, i am seen smaller shareware fees important application well to think about it i have seen more important applications that are free. i personally think that sidetrack should be opensource so that people have fix bugs they find them selves, ultimately making the application less buggy. sadly i will have to live without this application, it is a shame.

Pay a fee to unlock features already available in the trackpad, that apple chooses not to implement? I think not. I must be using one of the "betas", it's never expired on me, works great. If it were donationware I'd consider paying, but trying to force our hand and get us to pay for something that should be in the OS already? The hard work the developer did to right apple's wrong is certainly appreciated. But it's akin to a 3rd party fixing a bug in the OS and trying to charge for it.

This is the most useful 3rd party software on my iBook, next to Launchbar. An absolute must-have, so if it has to be $15, so be it, I'll dig deep and pay back this fabulous developer who was first to uncover this hidden capability of our trackpads. Why Apple doesn't I guess lands in that same bin as requests for a second mouse button. Arrgh. Try it! You'll be hooked like I am. Thanks Alex.

Nice app, but not worth $15. I can learn to live without it at that price. Um, thanks for the expiring beta without notice. Things just stopped working. :(

Beware - this 'update' doesn't enhance the program in any way and simply adds a periodic nag-screen requesting registration.

The developer never made any attempt to hide the fact that this was beta software (expiration dates, anyone?). If you had bothered to check his site you would have known that it was leading up to a shareware release. That being said, I would have gladly paid a fee from the beginning for this indispensible piece of software. Don't know that I'd be able to get used to using my iBook without it now. Thanks, Alex!

Fantastic software! Easy to use and works perfectly.

Excellent piece of software! I cant understand why Apple hasnt made this ages ago :-) Does not work in FileMaker :-(

I think this software is great, only problem is that the Beta expires soon.

Absolutely fabulous. This app is a given on any portable Apple machine, and it's free to boot. Thank you very much to the dev for an awesome product. I'd give it a 6 if I could.

I'm not going to rate this, because I already gave it 5 stars (somewhere along the lines). I've started to experience an odd glitch, though, where the computer seems to forget about Side Track (it gets sidetracked?). In order to get it working again I have to open my preferences, open the Side Track pane, change a preference and then change it back again. I'd, of course, rather that it just worked normally. Any ideas?

This thing is wonderful. It makes the crapy trakpad system a joy to use.

This thing is wonderful. It makes the crapy trakpad system a joy to use.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank You. Helps to correct one of most stubborn design flaws of an otherwise great machine.

I came back from Linux just for this! Awesome!

first i must say i love this!!!! just what i was looking for, BUT since installing it i can't seem to use my wacom tablet which is use for design... i dont't want to uninstall it cos it makes using my beloved ibook so much easier than it is already, but... any ideas anyone...? thanks in advance for any suggestions.

FREAKIN AWESOME! This app makes my life infinitely easier. Ever since I saw a PC with a scrolling section on the trackpad, I always thought it would be a useful feature. Well, now I have it on my new 15 alubook, without any ugly arrows on my trackpad either. It's beautiful!!! Nice work. =)

CORRECTION TO MY PREVIOUS REVIEW: SIDETRACK DID NOT CAUSE MY INTERNAL MICROPHONE TO DISAPPEAR (I like Sidetrack again!) Sidetrack was not the problem. Turns out there was a problem with Mac OS 10.3.4 and the internal microphone on some dual USB iBooks. I found the problem discussed on the Apple discussion board (Home > iBook > iBook (Dual USB) > Usage > Crazy problem with Internal Microphone). Anyhow, I upgraded to 10.3.5, and that is supposed to fix the problem. And I am about to go grab Sidetrack again and reinstall it. But before I do, I will change my rating of it to five stars.

After switching from a Windows laptop, the lack of scolling trackpads on a Mac kinda threw me off. But when I found this app, it increased my workflow and made life immeasurably easier. Props to the dev for making it freeware. We moochers must unite!

SIDETRACK MADE MY INTERNAL MICROPHONE DISAPPEAR (nuts, I liked Sidetrack!) (Hence my rating of great features and ease of use, but poor value and stability.) I used Sidetrack for several months on my 500Mhz 12 inch iBook, OS 10.3.4. I liked using it for vertical scrolling; it was very useful. However, I found that it would cause my iBook internal microphone to vanish from Preferences. I was not able to use iChat to do voice chat until I uninstalled Sidetrack (version 0.9). I sent my iBook back to AppleCare twice. The first time was to fix a broken hinge. After I got it back, I noticed that the microphone did not work. So I sent it back to AppleCare again. I do not know if Sidetrack caused that; I was using it. After I got the iBook back the second time from AppleCare, (AppleCare reinstalled Panther, they said there was software corruption), I reinstalled my saved data, and then I reinstalled my applications from scratch. The last thing I reinstalled was Sidetrack. A few weeks later, I noticed that my internal microphone disappeared again. (I do not know if it disappeared right away and it took a few weeks for me to notice.) After I uninstalled Sidetrack and rebooted, the internal microphone reappeared immediately. I would really like to reinstall Sidetrack. I think it is a wonderful utility, but I will not install it if it makes my microphone go away. Has anyone else had this problem

Great app. I switched from Windows and the only thing I missed was the feel of the pointer movement. Sidetrack provides setting to improve trackpad acceleration. Now, if only 'ignore trackpad when typing' really did that. I'm always popping my dock while I edit text.

eef-ing breelient. This E's awl.

This app is great. I especially appreciate the corner-click-feature, which enables me to easily use Exposé and. Whoa. I LOVE it.

Life is not worth living without Side Track!!!

Yeah, I forget I have it too, until I use another computer, or until a beta expires. I do wish it would either automatically check for updates occasionally and then alert me or maybe just not expire - it seems good enough for a final release to me. Anyway, this is awesome!

This is a must have for all trackpad users! It works so well and stable that i sometimes forget it's installed until i use a machine that does not this little thingy.. Thumbs up for the developer!!!

this software rocks!!!!! make my trackpad...really powerful....

Very very good software

I installed the latest .8 on my 1.33Ghz 12" Powerbook, and it doesn't seem to work. The preference pane says that the module isn't loaded.

I love this program so much, but WHY, OH WHY, can't the new "corners" feature be used to set a corner to command+option+click or other combinations of modifier keys and the mouse?