Turn off touch pad "clicking"

pgte3 · 08-18-2004, 07:04 PM

Greetings,

I am new to Linux. I have just installed debian "Sarge" on my Toshiba note book A15-S157. I would like to disable touch pad "clicking". I think I can do this by using tpconfig. I have installed this package from debian. From what I have read, I should run this program at startup. Could someone provide me with an example of what I should run, and where I should run it. I am not familiar with startup scripts yet so I will need some detailed help. Thanks.

Peter

littlemidget · 08-19-2004, 08:56 AM

try to do this and read a bit;

man tpconfig

It should give you a nice file :-)

Or you could take a look in /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 and see what it says about your touchpad there :-)

irlandes · 08-19-2004, 11:09 AM

and I have over a period of time tried every suggestion on eliminating it. Most of the time the files I am told to edit either don't exist, or editing them does not eliminate the clicking. I will try this latest suggestion.

As fa as XFConfig-4, mine had nothing that really affects the auto- click functioning.

To make it clear, I am talking that the little square that moves the cursor on a laptop when you run a finger across it, engages in random clicking as if I had left clicked. and no matter how careful I am, it does it, in both Win and linux. i waste a lot of time with this, and it is even worse when it clicks on a POST button before I am ready.

HOwever, the really worst problem is when I am typing, and the slightest touch with my wrist on this square grabs the typing cursor and repositions it somewhere else on the page, thus typing stuff in the wrong place. CTRL-Z should hypothetically undo, but at times that eliminates a large amount of material already types.

In general auto clicking on that cursor square is a bummer.

littlemidget · 08-19-2004, 11:13 AM

I know what you mean, and I can see why this is such a big problem. I think you may have a too high tap-time. If i tap my touchpad two times, it works as a right-click on my mouse.

You could try to add the touchpad to your /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 , and then just comment the line where the tap-stuff is, or modify it.

Here is what my /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 says about my touchpad:

Code:

Section "InputDevice"
        Driver          "synaptics"
        Identifier      "touchpad"
        Option          "Device"        "/dev/psaux"
        Option          "Protocol"      "auto-dev"
        Option          "LeftEdge"      "1700"
        Option          "RightEdge"     "5300"
        Option          "TopEdge"       "1700"
        Option          "BottomEdge"    "4200"
        Option          "FingerLow"     "25"
        Option          "FingerHigh"    "30"
        Option          "MaxTapTime"    "180"
        Option          "MaxTapMove"    "220"
        Option          "VertScrollDelta" "100"
        Option          "MinSpeed"      "0.06"
        Option          "MaxSpeed"      "0.12"
        Option          "AccelFactor"   "0.0010"
#       Option          "SHMConfig"     "on"
#       Option          "Repeater"      "/dev/ps2mouse"
        Option          "CorePointer"

pgte3 · 08-22-2004, 08:54 PM

Here is a sample script I found. How and where do I run it?

#!/bin/sh
# touchpad
# description: Startup script to disable touchpad tapping
# For Synaptics or ALPS touchpads.
#
# $Log$
#
# $Id$
#
#

test -r /etc/rc.d/init.d/functions && . /etc/rc.d/init.d/functions

echo ""
echo -n "Turning off Touch-Pad 'tapping' "

if [ -f /usr/bin/tpconfig ]; then
/usr/bin/tpconfig --tapmode=0
if [ $? ]; then
echo_failure
else
echo_success
fi
else
echo_failure
fi
echo ""
exit 0

JayCnrs · 08-22-2004, 09:48 PM

Do you have a file called /etc/rc.d/rc.local. If so then you save the script you found someplace as root, maybe /usr/bin, make the file executable chmod 755 filename. Then in your rc.local file add the line:

/usr/bin/filename

This will execute the file upon startup.

HTH

pgte3 · 08-24-2004, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JayCnrs
Do you have a file called /etc/rc.d/rc.local. If so then you save the script you found someplace as root, maybe /usr/bin, make the file executable chmod 755 filename. Then in your rc.local file add the line:

/usr/bin/filename

This will execute the file upon startup.

HTH

I do not have the above file. I think in debian it is recommended that these type of scripts go into /etc/init.d/rcS. I tried the following:

In /etc/init.d/rcS I have placed /home/peter/touchpad.sh. This does not work, and gives a message seen at start up something like "/etc/init.d/rcS run line 14 /home/peter/touchpad.sh not a file or directory found".

I have actually placed the entire script in /etc/init.d/rcS. This does not work, and gives a message seen at start up something like "can not find /usr/bin/tpconfig".

(note: I see these messages at start up but not in the message or kernel logs, why?)

All this strikes me as a path problem of some sort. The path in /etc/init.d/rcS seem to include /usr/bin. Does the path change as you execute another script?

I do not know why running dpkg-reconfigure tpconfig, and setting in the options "--tapmode=0" does not work. This seems to me like it should work, with no need for this script.

If I do need to use this script I just can not seen to get it right. I sure it is some thing I am doing wrong. Suggestions welcome.

Peter

pgte3 · 08-25-2004, 01:59 PM

I am satisfied for now. The following write up was able to answer my newbie type questions concerning debian start up.

http://www.aboutdebian.com/linux.htm

Thanks, Peter