macOS Big Sur and Monterey - Pre-release Driver Available

Questions and answers about 3Dconnexion devices on macOS.

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ngomes
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by ngomes »

Holliers wrote: Fri Nov 12, 2021 1:38 am (1) is it possible to get a list of the "known issues" for the current version of the beta release, so that I can make a decision about whether I can take a calculated risk and update the 3DConnexion driver?
We're currently tracking three issues: MAC-318 (Cinema 4D R25 does not work on M1 machines), MAC-323 (Onshape stops working after a few minutes of use) and MAC-324 (wireless CadMouse middle mouse button does not close tab in Microsoft Edge). MAC-323 and MAC-324 are regressions in "beta 20" (bugs were not present in the previous beta).
MAC-323 should be fixed (we're currently verifying the correction) and MAC-318 and MAC-324 are currently being investigated. We have not yet determined whether MAC-318 is a problem in the application or the driver.
(2) is it possible that you could release an "official driver" with certain products "unsupported" (software and hardware), allowing at least a portion of your users to upgrade?
The official driver, version 10.7.0, will be made available to support the same products as before. The only limitations will be the operating system version (macOS 10.15 and newer) and dropping support for CadMouse paired over a Universal Receiver. We don't expect any other issues.
(3) what is your estimated timeline for releasing the final driver (what is the date you report to your bosses ... if they ask)?
I don't have a date to share publicly but our plan was to have "beta 20" as the last public beta release. So, the official release is well overdue.
(4) is it possible for your company to allocate more resources to this endeavour. Having spent good money on 3DConnexion hardware I do feel slightly let down by the company (not R&D) with the time taken to get an updated driver in place (I appreciate this may be out of your control so perhaps you could pass on or direct this question).
Well, I'm one of the engineers but consider the following: 3Dconnexion has some of us directly engaging with customers in this Forum. It says something for a company that is willing to show how difficult some projects can be and to support customers to the best of our ability.

Edit: from our analysis, MAC-324 is a new issue introduced in macOS 12. The problem is not reproducible in macOS 11. We may have to implement a workaround in a firmware update.
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by ngomes »

RVeldhuyzen wrote: Sat Nov 13, 2021 3:07 am Is there any word on when we might expect the random SpaceMouse unresponsiveness in Maya (2022.2) in Monterey to be resolved?
[...]
Restarting Maya "fixes" the issue.
The next release is expected to improve stability in Maya but we don't yet have a definite answer.
RVeldhuyzen
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by RVeldhuyzen »

ngomes wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2021 4:55 am
RVeldhuyzen wrote: Sat Nov 13, 2021 3:07 am Is there any word on when we might expect the random SpaceMouse unresponsiveness in Maya (2022.2) in Monterey to be resolved?
[...]
Restarting Maya "fixes" the issue.
The next release is expected to improve stability in Maya but we don't yet have a definite answer.
Thanks for the update :)
It's time to roll the dice...
Holliers
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by Holliers »

Thank you for taking the time to respond.
ngomes wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2021 4:51 am
Holliers wrote: Fri Nov 12, 2021 1:38 am (1) is it possible to get a list of the "known issues" for the current version of the beta release, so that I can make a decision about whether I can take a calculated risk and update the 3DConnexion driver?
We're currently tracking three issues: MAC-318 (Cinema 4D R25 does not work on M1 machines), MAC-323 (Onshape stops working after a few minutes of use) and MAC-324 (wireless CadMouse middle mouse button does not close tab in Microsoft Edge). MAC-323 and MAC-324 are regressions in "beta 20" (bugs were not present in the previous beta).
MAC-323 should be fixed (we're currently verifying the correction) and MAC-318 and MAC-324 are currently being investigated. We have not yet determined whether MAC-318 is a problem in the application or the driver.
Thanks for this. The summary is really useful. As an Intel Mac, Sketch-up User with a wireless SpaceMouse, the risks to upgrading sound low. I'll keep an eye on the progress of Beta 20. Hopefully you will be in full release when I am forced into an operating system update in January, but if not the risks sound marginal.
ngomes wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2021 4:51 am
Holliers wrote: Fri Nov 12, 2021 1:38 am (2) is it possible that you could release an "official driver" with certain products "unsupported" (software and hardware), allowing at least a portion of your users to upgrade?
The official driver, version 10.7.0, will be made available to support the same products as before. The only limitations will be the operating system version (macOS 10.15 and newer) and dropping support for CadMouse paired over a Universal Receiver. We don't expect any other issues.
OK, that is at least clear. Thanks.
ngomes wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2021 4:51 am
Holliers wrote: Fri Nov 12, 2021 1:38 am (3) what is your estimated timeline for releasing the final driver (what is the date you report to your bosses ... if they ask)?
I don't have a date to share publicly but our plan was to have "beta 20" as the last public beta release. So, the official release is well overdue.
OK
ngomes wrote: Tue Nov 16, 2021 4:51 am
Holliers wrote: Fri Nov 12, 2021 1:38 am (4) is it possible for your company to allocate more resources to this endeavour. Having spent good money on 3DConnexion hardware I do feel slightly let down by the company (not R&D) with the time taken to get an updated driver in place (I appreciate this may be out of your control so perhaps you could pass on or direct this question).
Well, I'm one of the engineers but consider the following: 3Dconnexion has some of us directly engaging with customers in this Forum. It says something for a company that is willing to show how difficult some projects can be and to support customers to the best of our ability.
Agreed. The communication on this forum is really good, and you guys certainly do engage with the users even when the news may not be the best news. I'm not doubting the commitment of the team or the complexity of the work, just trying to share perspectives from the users end.

Thanks again for the useful information. Keep going ;-)
s1mon
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by s1mon »

I have a Space Navigator and I'm mainly trying to use Onshape in Safari (15.1) on an M1Max MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) running MacOS Monterey (12.0.1).

I wasn't having much luck keeping things running smoothly with the latest Beta, but then I found the posts about using the downrev beta. That seemed to work better, but now it's being flaky again. It works for a while after restart, but then it hangs. Sometimes it won't even spin the jet engine in the 3DConnexion Viewer, but sometimes it just won't talk to Onshape.

I talked to someone on the phone support line and they tried to blame all this on Apple, and said maybe my Space Navigator had a hardware issue and needed to be replaced. They didn't mention anything about MAC-323, or the downrev beta.

I'm inclined to think this is just a way to encourage me to buy more hardware and I kind of ignored it, but if there is actually an intermittent issue with my Space Navigator, I'm more than willing to replace it.

Honestly the ability to stay focused correctly on the right application is something that didn't always work well under Windows and Solidworks. I always blamed Microsoft and 3DConnexion for not managing to keep the driver talking to the right program, but if there's some sort of HW glitch which is confusing things, I'd love to know.
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by marcarch »

Again, I have to report occasionally faulty (or fake) 3rd button clicks with latest beta and AutoCAD 2022.
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by marcarch »

Tried to close all 3Dx activities but the issue is still there.
Connecting the USB cable solves the issue.
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by ngomes »

marcarch wrote: Wed Nov 24, 2021 12:40 pm Tried to close all 3Dx activities but the issue is still there.
Connecting the USB cable solves the issue.
We're tracking an issue (MAC-324) with re-assigned CadMouse buttons in macOS 12 if the device is connected by Bluetooth. The systems appears to be issued mouse events even when the button has been reassigned to other actions. This can result a button not working.

This is specific to macOS 12 "Monterey" (the issue is not reproducible on macOS 11 "Big Sur" and older).
garybart
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by garybart »

I am running Mac OS 11.8.1 and CadMouse Compact Wireless. I just installed the beta driver and modifier keys are not working in Fusion 360. Prior to the update the Command key and Mouse wheel combo engaged Orbit. Now, the wheel button engages Pan, regardless of modifier key press. This is seriously worse and makes this mouse virtually unusable. Suggestions/
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by marcarch »

garybart wrote: Sat Nov 27, 2021 10:16 am I am running Mac OS 11.8.1 and CadMouse Compact Wireless. I just installed the beta driver and modifier keys are not working in Fusion 360. Prior to the update the Command key and Mouse wheel combo engaged Orbit. Now, the wheel button engages Pan, regardless of modifier key press. This is seriously worse and makes this mouse virtually unusable. Suggestions/
Did you update the mouse firmware?
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by ngomes »

garybart wrote: Sat Nov 27, 2021 10:16 am Now, the wheel button engages Pan, regardless of modifier key press.
This appears to be MAC-324. As mentioned above, we believe macOS 12 is behaving differently from macOS 11 on how it handles the wireless CadMouse buttons. Regardless of what is assigned to the wheel button, the system will always generate a mouse "button click 3" (middle mouse button) short of outright disabling the button.

To confirm, try use the "Radial Menu" button (the small button just aft of the wheel). It will probably work fine when the "wheel" button is behaving oddly.
I am running Mac OS 11.8.1
I think you mean to write version "11.6.1", the latest available version of "Big Sur".
marcarch
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by marcarch »

ngomes wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:09 am we believe macOS 12 is behaving differently from macOS 11 on how it handles the wireless CadMouse buttons. Regardless of what is assigned to the wheel button, the system will always generate a mouse "button click 3" (middle mouse button) short of outright disabling the button.
Without 3Dx driver installed, what button is assigned to middle button by CAD Mouse firmware?

I'm asking just because I was configuring a Big Sur Mac with a CadMouse Pro and noticed that middle button didn't work at all before installing 3Dx driver.
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by ngomes »

marcarch wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 1:30 am Without 3Dx driver installed, what button is assigned to middle button by CAD Mouse firmware?
Both the middle and wheel buttons are assigned the mouse button action known as "middle" on Windows and as "click 3" on macOS.
I'm asking just because I was configuring a Big Sur Mac with a CadMouse Pro and noticed that middle button didn't work at all before installing 3Dx driver.
We cannot confirm that information.

Without a driver installed, both buttons appear to work as expected for a "click 3" action: a link in Safari opens in a new tab if clicked using either the middle mouse or the wheel buttons. This was verified using a CadMouse Wireless (fw 1.11) in both macOS 11.4 "Big Sur" and 12.0.1 "Monterey".
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

Post by marcarch »

ngomes wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 3:55 am This was verified using a CadMouse Wireless (fw 1.11) in both macOS 11.4 "Big Sur" and 12.0.1 "Monterey".
Yes, I confirm CadMouse Wireless acts like you said with firmware 1.11 without 3Dx driver.
In my "test" I was using a CadMouse Pro Wireless, which probably has a different (older?) firmware compared to my CadMouse Wireless.
Anyway was an off topic curiosity.

Is MAC-324 still present with macOS 12.1 betas?
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Re: macOS Big Sur - Beta Driver Available

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marcarch wrote: Mon Nov 29, 2021 4:05 am Is MAC-324 still present with macOS 12.1 betas?
As far as we can tell, yes. It appears to be a permanent change in how the system (macOS 12) handles the CadMouse types.
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