Should I be using evdev or synaptics for my touchpad?
Sorry if this is a really naive question, but should I be using evdev or synaptics for my laptop's touchpad?
I'm running Slackware-current on a ThinkPad T410. In the past, two-finger scrolling was working without me doing anything to set it up. I'm not sure exactly when, but recently it stopped working. The basic touchpad functionality still works, but I'd like to re-enable two-finger scrolling. In researching this, I've found a lot of threads and docs talking about synaptics, but not so much talk about evdev. Looking though my /var/logs/Xorg.0.log, I can see that my system is using evdev, rather than synaptics. Also, when I try to run synclient -l, I get the message, Couldn't find synaptics properties. No synaptics driver loaded? So, is evdev fine, and I should look into enabling two-finger scroll with evdev, or should I try to get my touchpad running with synaptics? |
Ok, now I'm very confused. After suspending and un-suspending my laptop, the two-finger scroll has returned.
Here is what I believe is the relevant section from /var/logs/Xorg.0.log : Code:
[ 21137.491] (II) config/udev: removing device PS/2 Generic Mouse |
From 'man evdev'
Quote:
Quote:
When starting X, your touchpad should be automatically detected. Perhaps in your endeavours to get this working, you have somehow disabled the touchpad device through manipulation of Option "TouchpadOff". This would be maintained through suspend and resume cycles. BTW - Had you read CHANGES_AND_HINTS.TXT you would have seen Code:
Xorg no longer uses /etc/X11/xorg.conf by default (and in most cases, there |
Thanks for your reply Allend. I don't know why, after restarting the computer, my touchpad is running with synaptics again. I never made any changes to any xorg.conf files.
I actually did read through the Changes and Hints, but from my reading of it, I still don't understand why the synaptics driver didn't get my touchpad in the first place. It's supposed to override the evdev driver, but it didn't for me on my last boot. Anyhow, I guess I can make this as solved, as my computer is running properly again, but as for my original question, what I was really wondering about was if either evdev or synaptics would be a more efficient driver. (I don't know much about drivers, so sorry if this is a silly question) I know that synaptics allows for more advanced features, but does this also mean that it's a little slower? Or does evdev, being a generic driver perform more slowly? Or is my understanding of drivers so off, that this question doesn't really make sense? |
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