The 3 Best Logitech MX Master 3 Customizations to Enhance Your Productivity

The Logitech MX Master 3 mouse is one of the best options available for people who want to enhance their productivity, but only once you start customizing the settings. The problem is that most of us don’t know where to begin, which means we haven’t even skimmed the surface of what the MX Master 3 is capable of.

In this article, we will show you a few key customization features. This includes using gestures to expand the number of functions per button, assigning keyboard shortcuts to your mouse, and building custom profiles for each app you use.

What You Need to Customize the MX Master 3

The MX Master 3 is a mouse that combines form with function. Its sleek design includes ergonomic support for your hand, and it has seven buttons, five of which are fully customizable (the right and left click cannot be changed).

Once you have your MX Master 3 mouse in your hands, don’t waste time on getting it set up because there is so much more it can do once you download the free, companion software.

At the moment, there are two official Logitech apps for customization, which can be confusing. One is called Logitech Options, and the other is called Logi Options+. They both essentially do the same thing at this point, but eventually Logi Options+ will have new and updated features going forward alongside a more friendly user interface, so we recommend you download Logi Options+.

Currently, this software is only available for Windows 10 or later and macOS 10.15 or later. For Linux users, there is no official support, which is disappointing. However, there is a workaround that you can read about on the Arch Linux Wiki page.

1. Expand Beyond 8 Buttons Using Gestures

When you first use your MX Master 3 alongside the Logi Options+ software, you will notice that the buttons already have functions assigned to them. While these buttons are useful, you will quickly wish that you had even more room for adding shortcuts or actions to use, and that’s where the gesture feature comes in handy.

Gestures work by combining a button press with moving the mouse up, down, left or right. As an example, you can press and hold one of the side buttons, then move your mouse forward to perform an action like taking a screenshot.

To do this in Logi Options+, click on the button that says Shift Wheel Mode to bring up a sidebar menu of actions. From the menu, click on Gestures and click on Windows Navigation to change it to Custom. This will give you four more options for assigning a function, on top of just the click.

To test this out, let’s go ahead and set Hold + Move Up as our new gesture for taking a screenshot. After clicking on the heading, choose Screen Capture from the recommended list. This list changes depending on the button you choose, so if you can’t find what you are looking for try typing in the search bar.

The only other button you can’t use gestures on is the horizontal thumb scroll wheel, but that aside, using the gesture feature will give you a whopping 20 more places to assign a custom function.

2. Assign Keyboard Shortcuts to Buttons

A great place to start streamlining your workflow is with keyboard shortcuts. Using Logic Options+, you can assign a keystroke to a button press, or gesture, as we explained previously. This not only cuts down the number of key presses you have to use, but will minimize the strain on your hands by reducing repetitive movements.

The most common shortcut is Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V for copy and paste, which takes four key presses in total. But by assigning the shortcut to your mouse, it reduces that number to just two button clicks.

Less common shortcuts are not difficult to assign either, and there are plenty of Adobe Photoshop keyboard shortcuts you can choose from if you’re not sure where to begin.

As an example, let’s assign the lengthy shortcut Command + Shift + Option + E to a button—in Photoshop, this is the shortcut to copy and paste all visible elements on your art board into a new layer (macOS).

In Logi Options+, click any one of the available buttons and select the Keyboard shortcut. This will open up a space for you to type in the shortcut we mentioned. Once you’re finished, simply exit the program, and the new shortcut should now work.

3. Set Custom Profiles for Different Apps

Finally, you can set custom shortcuts for the specific software you use. The thumb scroll wheel, for example, can change the brush size in Photoshop, while in Premiere Pro, it can scroll horizontally to navigate the editing timeline.

Already, Logitech has several profiles pre-built for you, including all the different Adobe Cloud Apps and Microsoft Office software. But by no means is that the limit; you can build custom profiles for any software you want.

To change an existing profile, select the app icon from the top right of the Logi Options+ home screen, then make changes to the button as usual. If you can’t see the app you are looking for, then you will need to create a profile by clicking the plus (+) sign at the far end of the app icon list. This will bring up a side menu with all the applications it recognizes on your computer.

If the app is missing from this list as well, scroll to the bottom of the menu and click Add Other Application to search for the software you want. Want to scrap the profile and start again? Just hover over the app icon and click the X to delete it.

MX Master 3: A Boon for Productivity and Workflow

To get the most benefit from the MX Master 3 mouse, you will need to download Logi Options+. Once you do that, you can add a gesture to give you secondary functions and assign your favorite keyboard shortcuts to your mouse. To take it one step further, try tweaking the mouse buttons for a specific software you use.

On the surface, the MX Master 3 appears to have just seven buttons, but the additional Logitech software truly takes this mouse to a whole new level of customizations. With these customization features, you can really start to hone your productivity workflow.