Tap-to-click does not work in GDM

[Andreas E.]

When Gnome Shell crashes or after boot, GDM is shown and asks the user to select an account and type the password. However selecting the account by tapping on it with the trackpad does not work. One has to press hard on the trackpad until it clicks.

This is probably because the defaults in the input manager for GDM and new user accounts are set to disable "tap to click".

1. The default is inconsistent for users who have this enabled within their account, but unexpectedly encounter the default before logging in.

2. The default (for session login etc.) should be all-encompassing rather than specialized/restrictive. A user being used to click is not hindered by tapping being enabled. A user being used to tap is however hindered by tapping being disabled.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 17.04
Package: gdm3 3.24.1-0ubuntu0.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.10.0-30.34-generic 4.10.17
Uname: Linux 4.10.0-30-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.4-0ubuntu4.5
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: GNOME
Date: Sat Aug 5 14:12:39 2017
EcryptfsInUse: Yes
InstallationDate: Installed on 2016-11-05 (273 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 16.10 "Yakkety Yak" - Release amd64 (20161012.2)
JournalErrors:
 Error: command ['journalctl', '-b', '--priority=warning', '--lines=1000'] failed with exit code 1: Hint: You are currently not seeing messages from other users and the system.
       Users in the 'systemd-journal' group can see all messages. Pass -q to
       turn off this notice.
 No journal files were opened due to insufficient permissions.
ProcEnviron:
 TERM=xterm-256color
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
 LANG=de_DE.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: gdm3
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Low priority. I agree having a configuration that works for all personal preferences on the login screen would be best.

However forcing the user to click on a clickpad that is designed to be physically clicked is not a significant restriction.

[Andreas E. (andreas-e)]

A point to consider is that not all touchpads look the same and behave the same. Hardware manufacturers do use their freedom of physical design decisions to drive the user into a natural interaction that fits their vision. By not having visible buttons and requiring significant force for physical clicking, touch tends to feel more natural (as in the name).

While not a "significant restriction", the software view is often much simpler than the variety of real hardware outside. This poses rather an inconsistency, and the system does not notify the user about the change of interaction paradigm. This also appears new and inconsistent in comparison to other widespread desktops (Unity) where such enforcements are not active.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

I do still agree that allowing tapping on the login screen would be ideal.

Let's bump this to Medium and see if there's a simple fix.

[Khairul Aizat Kamarudzzaman (fenris)]

Im having the same issues in 17.10 after changing from Lightdm to GDM3.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Strange. I'm using 17.10 and tap-to-click is actually working in GDM on my laptop.

All - please let us know what model laptops you are still having the problem on.

[Andreas E. (andreas-e)]

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro (but on 17.04, have not tested 17.10 yet)
synaptics: SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad: Vendor 0x2 Product 0x7

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

I have now tested two Lenovo laptops with different Synaptics touchpads. Both running 17.10 and both support tap-to-click on the GDM login screen just fine. So...

Andreas: Please upgrade when it's convenient (perhaps after the official release) and try 17.10.

fenris: Please log a new bug using command 'ubuntu-bug gdm3' so we can get your system details.

[Khairul Aizat Kamarudzzaman (fenris)]

@daniel , https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gdm3/+bug/1711538

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for gdm3 (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]