Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

nashjc · 2020-09-19 19:00:39

I've installed BL He on a Dell Inspiron 3000. (small blue laptop, rather underpowered).
It unfortunately has a touchscreen. The touchPAD works until login, then as the last parts of the GUI
come up (I think Conky), touchpad stops working.

Issuing
synclient TouchPadOff=0

gets it going again. I've tried editing autostart, but that seems to be run before whatever disables
the pad. xinput commands can turn the touchSCREEN off and on, but don't seem to enable to touchPAD.
(Sorry if the caps are annoying, but it's easy to get confused).

So I know how to get going, but I'd like to put the command somewhere that I don't have to do it each login.

Essentially I need to know how to issue the synclient command very late in the login process.

Thanks.

JN

Last edited by nashjc (2021-05-05 17:39:31)

Sector11 · 2020-09-19 19:42:03

How about in a bash file that runs as the very last line in the openbox autostart file?

Just a shot in the dark - NOT TESTED - NOT AN EXPERT

xset -dpms &
xset s off &
xset -b &
nitrogen --restore &
compton --config ~/.config/compton/S11.compton.conf &
thunar --daemon &
fbpanel &
(sleep 1s && volumeicon) &
(sleep 1s && artha) &
(sleep 1s && discord --start-minimized) &
(sleep 2s && ~/bin/tpad.sh) &
exit

#!/bin/bash
##   ~/bin/tpad.sh
##   start touchpad

synclient TouchPadOff=0
exit

nashjc · 2020-09-19 20:13:48

I didn't try a script at end of autostart, but did put the command
there.

I think that the touchpad is turned off AFTER the autostart runs.

JN

damo · 2020-09-19 20:51:55

nashjc wrote:

...
Essentially I need to know how to issue the synclient command very late in the login process.
Thanks.
JN

As the last command in autostart try

sleep 3 && synclient TouchPadOff=0

Experiment with the sleep value so it works after the shortest time necessary. If you add an ampersand after the command it will be forked off and autostart will exit. Without it, autostart will wait until the command completes.

Also, check out Arch wiki - Dell Inspiron 3000
(NB the Debian packages aren't "xf86-*" but xserver-xorg-input-evdev and xserver-xorg-input-libinput)

ohnonot · 2020-09-21 17:44:12

^ I hope the longer delay fixes it.

Out of curiosity, does the touchSCREEN work?

nashjc · 2021-05-05 17:38:34

I should have replied earlier. I had thought that I did, but actually had answered a
forum post for another distro I use on a different topic.

My solution was to install the package xserver-xorg-input-synaptics

That resolved things.

JN

matollik · 2023-01-17 07:42:43

With Litium Beryllium installed on Acer 5750G, of age 10 years, the touchpad has ceased working. After the installment there was no problems. The cursor moves and all pages etc. can be seen as usual, but a click function fails to activate. I've learned that synclient TouchpadOff=0 might help, but for some reason I can't change the value. In synclient -l the value remains always =2. Some other synclient values do change, e.g. ClickPad, PalmMinZ and others. Any advice is welcome.

hhh · 2023-01-17 08:18:16

Removing [SOLVED] from the OP title.

This has to be a libinput/xorg issue, but I'm not familiar enough with either in Beryllium to suggest a solution. Community, this is your time to shine!

https://wiki.debian.org/SynapticsTouchpad

Maybe start by removing xserver-xorg-input-libinput and reboot? Or else reinstall that and remove xserver-xorg-input-synaptics and reboot?

@johnraff, this is a conflict, according to the Wiki. Shouldn't BE have one or the other installed, not both?

PackRat · 2023-01-17 10:55:14

Yes, you only want one installed; usually libinput since it's newer and Wayland will make use of it (should a user want to install wayland).

ArchWiki - https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Libinput

Section 3 has the disable/enable commands. I put the the command to disable in ~/.xprofile. It can be in the openbox autostart if that is preferred. Probably make it a systemd service if you want.

I also include the commands to enable and disable as bash aliases so I can quickly enable/disable if required.

Added bonus for the southpaws, in the ArchWiki is the comnand to make your mouse left handed.

matollik · 2023-01-17 11:18:28

Thanks for the advice. I'll figure how I could have them put in practice.

Also found that syndaemon has an impact on touchpad function, disabling it when the keyboard is busy, quite proper oftentimes. When I disrupt syndaemon and stop its session via htop,
synclient values are obeidant again. Unfortunately no effect on touchpad function. Search continues for solution.

Later I also uninstalled xserver-xorg-input-synaptics but without an effect of any kind on touchpad.

Last edited by matollik (2023-01-18 07:58:59)

brontosaurusrex · 2023-01-17 12:34:06

Silly question, do you have mouse connected? (There may be behavior which disabled touchpad when mice is present)

PackRat · 2023-01-17 14:33:17

brontosaurusrex wrote:

(There may be behavior which disabled touchpad when mice is present)

I have seen that done via bash script (Arch forum?) It didn't work for my system. Probably just needed some adjustments to the awk and sed parsing, but I didn't pursue it.

johnraff · 2023-01-18 02:33:53

hhh wrote:

Maybe start by removing xserver-xorg-input-libinput and reboot? Or else reinstall that and remove xserver-xorg-input-synaptics and reboot?
@johnraff, this is a conflict, according to the Wiki. Shouldn't BE have one or the other installed, not both?

BunsenLabs Beryllium installs xserver-xorg-input-synaptics by default. This was the result of a dev discussion over a year ago, which I've now copied into the public zone: https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic … 82#p125682

xserver-xorg-input-libinput must have been brought in as a dependency, but the two packages don't actually conflict, or dpkg would not have allowed it.

So as not to derail @matollik's support thread, please continue the BL discussion on the above thread.

rab-bits · 2023-03-15 09:39:39

matollik wrote:

...The cursor moves and all pages etc. can be seen as usual, but a click function fails to activate. I've learned that synclient TouchpadOff=0 might help, but for some reason I can't change the value. In synclient -l the value remains always =2. Some other synclient values do change, e.g. ClickPad, PalmMinZ and others. Any advice is welcome.

On a fresh beryllium, I had the same problem. It turned out that synclient did not work, and the reason was that libinput overrules synaptics. To solve the problem, try make a file:
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/70-synaptics.conf with the following content:

Section "InputClass"
Identifier "libinput touchpad catchall"
MatchIsTouchpad "on"
MatchDevicePath "/dev/input/event*"
Driver "libinput"
Option "Tapping" "on"
EndSection

I think the name of the file is not important except the first number and .conf.

Last edited by rab-bits (2023-03-15 12:31:59)

johnraff · 2023-03-16 02:02:35

Hi ra-bits and welcome!

Please have a look at this discussion: https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic.php?id=8406
especially posts 13~17.

So, on at least some hardware, synaptics is still handling touchpads better than libinput, and it's quite possible to have both installed. In that case, synaptics will get precedence over libinput for the touchpad.

My old Thinkpad is using libinput for everything except synaptics for the touchpad (see the linked thread). I didn't have to configure anything - this is how the system arranged itself, and it's working fine. However, some people with newer hardware might want to use libinput for everything including the touchpad. The easiest way to do that is simply to uninstall xserver-xorg-input-synaptics.

Also note the contents on Bullseye/Beryllium of the existing file /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/70-synaptics.conf:

# Example xorg.conf.d snippet that assigns the touchpad driver
# to all touchpads. See xorg.conf.d(5) for more information on
# InputClass.
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE, your distribution will likely overwrite
# it when updating. Copy (and rename) this file into
# /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d first.
# Additional options may be added in the form of
#   Option "OptionName" "value"
#
Section "InputClass"
        Identifier "touchpad catchall"
        Driver "synaptics"
        MatchIsTouchpad "on"
# This option is recommend on all Linux systems using evdev, but cannot be
# enabled by default. See the following link for details:
# http://who-t.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-ignore-configuration-errors.html
#       MatchDevicePath "/dev/input/event*"
EndSection

Section "InputClass"
        Identifier "touchpad ignore duplicates"
        MatchIsTouchpad "on"
        MatchOS "Linux"
        MatchDevicePath "/dev/input/mouse*"
        Option "Ignore" "on"
EndSection

# This option enables the bottom right corner to be a right button on clickpads
# and the right and middle top areas to be right / middle buttons on clickpads
# with a top button area.
# This option is only interpreted by clickpads.
Section "InputClass"
        Identifier "Default clickpad buttons"
        MatchDriver "synaptics"
        Option "SoftButtonAreas" "50% 0 82% 0 0 0 0 0"
        Option "SecondarySoftButtonAreas" "58% 0 0 15% 42% 58% 0 15%"
EndSection

# This option disables software buttons on Apple touchpads.
# This option is only interpreted by clickpads.
Section "InputClass"
        Identifier "Disable clickpad buttons on Apple touchpads"
        MatchProduct "Apple|bcm5974"
        MatchDriver "synaptics"
        Option "SoftButtonAreas" "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0"
EndSection

#1 2020-09-19 19:00:39

Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#2 2020-09-19 19:42:03

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#3 2020-09-19 20:13:48

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#4 2020-09-19 20:51:55

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#5 2020-09-21 17:44:12

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#6 2021-05-05 17:38:34

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#7 2023-01-17 07:42:43

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#8 2023-01-17 08:18:16

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#9 2023-01-17 10:55:14

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#10 2023-01-17 11:18:28

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#11 2023-01-17 12:34:06

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#12 2023-01-17 14:33:17

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#13 2023-01-18 02:33:53

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#14 2023-03-15 09:39:39

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

#15 2023-03-16 02:02:35

Re: Where (which file) to put command to enable touchpad

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