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Synaptics touchpad

 
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What's your preferred pointing device on a laptop ?
Trackpad
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
Mouse
50%
 50%  [ 3 ]
Nipple
50%
 50%  [ 3 ]
Other
0%
 0%  [ 0 ]
Total Votes : 6

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Nigel
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Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2005 9:03 pm
Posts: 1141
Location: Gloucestershire, UK

PostPosted: Sun Oct 30, 2005 11:45 pm    Post subject: Synaptics touchpad Reply with quote

Hi Folks,

I'm happily running SuSE 9.2 on my laptop, usually with a USB mouse. The machine also has a Synaptics touchpad which I use when I can't be bothered to plug the mouse in.
However, I'm getting really frustrated with it because it's too sensitive. And I can't stand the "tap to click" function - I keep clicking when I don't want to. And I'm forever brushing it with my palms whilst typing (and it still works even with the USB mouse plugged in).

Under Windows, the Synaptics driver allows you to turn tapping off and to adjust the sensitivity of the touchpad. Is there an equivalent for Linux ? If so, could someone please point me in the right direction ?

Many thanks,


Nigel.
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nelz
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Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2005 12:52 pm
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Location: Warrington, UK

PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:05 am    Post subject: RE: Synaptics touchpad Reply with quote

There is a way to turn it off, I did so on another laptop. ISTR it was somewhere in xorg.conf.

I don't particularly like trackpads, I much preferred the nipple on my old Thinkpad.
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Nigel
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Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2005 9:03 pm
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Location: Gloucestershire, UK

PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:14 am    Post subject: Re: RE: Synaptics touchpad Reply with quote

nelz wrote:
I don't particularly like trackpads, I much preferred the nipple on my old Thinkpad.


Toshiba also used to use nipples, 'twas a dark day when they switched to trackpads.
Turning the trackpad off completely on this laptop is a last-ditch solution - I'd really prefer to tune it so I can live with it. That way if I forget to take a USB mouse with me I can still use the laptop.
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Rhakios
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Joined: Thu Apr 07, 2005 12:18 am
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Location: Midlands, UK

PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:17 am    Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Synaptics touchpad Reply with quote

Indeed, with SuSE9.2 and 9.3 I had to do a lot of fiddling to get my touchpad on my Toshiba laptop to work sensibly. SuSE10 is rather nice in that it has relieved me of the need to do this, it works just fine Smile
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Nobber
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Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 4:24 pm
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Location: Nova Scotia

PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 9:42 am    Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Synaptics touchpad Reply with quote

A few years ago I used tpconfig to turn off the tap-to-click feature on my HP Omnibook's touchpad. It worked fine.
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Nigel
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Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2005 9:03 pm
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Location: Gloucestershire, UK

PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 10:13 am    Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Synaptics touchpad Reply with quote

That looks promising... I'll give it a try this evening.

Many thanks Smile
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nelz
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 11:38 am    Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Synaptics touchpad Reply with quote

According to http://gentoo-wiki.com/HARDWARE_Synaptics_Touchpad you can disable the tap-to-annoy-you feature by setting MaxTapTime to zero in xorg.conf.
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Nigel
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 2:45 pm    Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Synaptics touchpad Reply with quote

Even better Very Happy
Will give this a try when I get home.

Do you know of anyone who actually likes the "tap" feature ?

nelz - am I right in thinking you use an ibook ? What (if anything) do you do about the touchpad on that ? (I'm considering investing in an ibook if I get a decent Xmas bonus this year).
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nelz
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:01 pm    Post subject: Re: RE: Re: RE: Synaptics touchpad Reply with quote

Nigel wrote:
Do you know of anyone who actually likes the "tap" feature ?


Plumbers or dancers? Very Happy

Nigel wrote:
nelz - am I right in thinking you use an ibook ? What (if anything) do you do about the touchpad on that ? (I'm considering investing in an ibook if I get a decent Xmas bonus this year).


Nothing, I downloaded an xorg.conf from http://www.alessandroronchi.net/wiki/LinuxOnIBookG4 and it just worked. The single mouse button is a bit of a pain, but it is easy enough to map F11/F12 to the middle/right buttons.
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Nigel
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:10 pm    Post subject: Re: RE: Re: RE: Synaptics touchpad Reply with quote

Love the new sig, nelz Laughing Laughing Laughing
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nelz
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:48 pm    Post subject: RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Synaptics touchpad Reply with quote

Make the most of it. It's a one day special! Very Happy
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