Cannot configure Synaptics TouchStyk settings (e.g. sensitivity, tapping, press/select)

[Jo Vermeulen]

Although GNOME now has a preferences window for configuring the behavior of the Synaptics touchpad, there is no dialog for configuring the behavior of the TouchStyk (similar to IBM's TrackPoint or more generally referred to as a pointing stick).

The Synaptics driver on Windows allows me to configure the pace of the TouchStyk, which is by default too slow in Ubuntu in my opinion. Furthermore, I can enable features such as tapping to perform a left mouse click, and press/select which allows me to select text using only the TouchStyk. I believe even scrolling should be possible.

Is there any way to configure this in Ubuntu? Even granted that this is possible, I believe users should be able to alter the default configuration in a graphical way.

Bug #251121 seems to report something similar (but in this case with an ALPS touchpad/trackpoint).

Thanks in advance! I greatly appreciate the fact that laptop support is getting better and better on Ubuntu, but of course to get it really up to par with Windows and Mac OS X, we should keep reporting these things.

[Jo Vermeulen (jozilla)]

Forgot to mention it, but my laptop is an HP Compaq 8510p.

[Ahmad Tarek (ahmadtarek)]

Can you please specify the version of Ubuntu you are using?

[Jo Vermeulen (jozilla)]

I'm using Ubuntu 8.04.

[Dana Goyette (danagoyette)]

I have an HP EliteBook 8530w, and have the same issue; here's what /proc/bus/input/devices reports for the touchpad and TouchStyk:

I: Bus=0011 Vendor=0002 Product=0007 Version=01b1
N: Name="SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad"
P: Phys=isa0060/serio4/input0
S: Sysfs=/devices/platform/i8042/serio4/input/input14
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=mouse1 event7
B: EV=b
B: KEY=6420 670000 0 0 0 0
B: ABS=11000003

I: Bus=0011 Vendor=0002 Product=0001 Version=0000
N: Name="PS/2 Generic Mouse"
P: Phys=synaptics-pt/serio0/input0
S: Sysfs=/devices/platform/i8042/serio4/serio7/input/input15
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=mouse2 event8
B: EV=7
B: KEY=70000 0 0 0 0
B: REL=3

[Dana Goyette (danagoyette)]

Here's what I think is the problem: current versions of the Linux kernel break the stick out as a separate "PS/2 Generic Mouse", instead of having it be part of the touchpad device.
http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/linux/linux-kernel/2003-27/0026.html

It seems the Synaptics Xorg driver still has accommodations for a guest mouse within it: there's a GuestMouseOff option (that now does nothing), and synclient -m shows the following columns:
    time x y z f w l r u d m multi gl gm gr gdx gdy
   0.000 1 5855 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00000000 0 0 0 0 0
the gl, gm, gr, gdx, and gdy options are supposed to be for the guest mouse motion... but they don't work.

Ideally, I'd be able to configure middle-mouse scroll emulation only when the middle button on the guest is used... but as it is, the stick's buttons are logically attached to the touchpad, and not the "PS/2 Generic Mouse"... so I can't use scroll emulation, and I can't use press-to-select.

Note that in Windows, the Device Manager shows only the Touchpad device; the stick is part of that device.

[ThomasN (tnetter)]

A work around is to start gconf-editor and navigate to:
desktop/gnome/peripherals/mouse
and set:
motion_acceleration 4
motion_threshold 0

[neo21 (meceso)]

I am having the same problems. The HP TouchStyk can not be configured properly with the GNOME mouse nor gsynaptics app. The default settings are not usable (much to slow and insensitive).

Model: HP Compaq nc2400
OS: Ubuntu 9.04

[Dana Goyette (danagoyette)]

Marking this as affecting "linux" task, because the separation of the "Generic PS/2 Mouse" is almost certainly part of the problem. The Xorg Synaptics Driver still has framework for using a stick... but the kernel renders that existing framework useless.

[kernel-janitor (kernel-janitor)]

Hi Jo,

Please be sure to confirm this issue exists with the latest development release of Ubuntu. ISO CD images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/ . Please then run following command from a Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal). It will automatically gather and attach updated debug information to this report.

apport-collect -p linux 268506

Also, if you could test the latest upstream kernel available that would be great. It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please remove the 'needs-upstream-testing' tag. This can be done by clicking on the yellow pencil icon next to the tag located at the bottom of the bug description and deleting the 'needs-upstream-testing' text. Please let us know your results.

Thanks in advance.

[This is an automated message. Apologies if it has reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

[Dana Goyette (danagoyette)]

Hmm, I can confirm that this issue still exists in Karmic.
uname -a:
Linux EliteBook 2.6.31-10-generic #35-Ubuntu SMP Tue Sep 22 17:33:14 UTC 2009 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Attempting apport-collect gives this:
...
Collecting apport information for source package linux...
No additional information collected.

[Tomas Pospisek (tpo-deb)]

Dana Goyette has done what was wanted

[Dana Goyette (danagoyette)]

Issue still occurs with 2.6.35 kernel in Maverick.
New information:
Apparently the old GuestMouse feature has been removed: http://<email address hidden>/msg03793.html
Also, NetBSD has an interesting kernel patch: http://mail-index.netbsd.org/netbsd-bugs/2010/02/20/msg016191.html

"The synaptics driver apparently confuses the attached 'passthrough' device i.e., the trackpoint on my T4x during the capability probe sequence, resulting in a working touchpad but non-working trackpoint. The fix: Resetting the device first thin[g] during attach seems to do the trick."

I wonder if a similar issue is happening with the Linux Synaptics driver.

[Dana Goyette (danagoyette)]

Some new information: I had a chance to try Ubuntu on a laptop that has ONLY the stick ("HP Compaq" 2710p), and even on that computer with no touchpad, I still see the stick as "PS/2 Generic Mouse".

[Phillip Susi (psusi)]

This package has been removed from Ubuntu. Closing all related bugs.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[Dana Goyette (danagoyette)]

This bug is still around even in 13.04. I'd imagine psmouse.c needs code added to detect the Synaptics TouchStyk.

(I couldn't find the TouchStyk interfacing guide that Synaptics' TouchPad interfacing guide refers to, so I can't say what that code would need to be.)

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Dana Goyette, this bug was reported a while ago and there hasn't been any activity in it recently. We were wondering if this is still an issue? If so, could you please test for this with the latest development release of Ubuntu? ISO images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/ .

If it remains an issue, could you please run the following command in the development release from a Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal), as it will automatically gather and attach updated debug information to this report:

apport-collect -p linux <replace-with-bug-number>

Also, could you please test the latest upstream kernel available (not the daily folder, but the one at the top) following https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds ? It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please comment on which kernel version specifically you tested. If this bug is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following tags:
kernel-fixed-upstream
kernel-fixed-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

where VERSION-NUMBER is the version number of the kernel you tested. For example:
kernel-fixed-upstream-v3.13-rc4

This can be done by clicking on the yellow circle with a black pencil icon next to the word Tags located at the bottom of the bug description. As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

If the mainline kernel does not fix this bug, please add the following tags:
kernel-bug-exists-upstream
kernel-bug-exists-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

Once testing of the upstream kernel is complete, please mark this bug's Status as Confirmed. Please let us know your results. Thank you for your understanding.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[James (jamestheawesomedude)]

@penalvch Unfortunately, 5 years later, this exact bug is still here.

HP EliteBook 8470p, the TouchStyk is showing up as a "PS/2 Generic Mouse" with no way to configure tap-to-click through either xinput or a config file.

[penalvch (penalvch)]

James (jamestheawesomedude), it will help immensely if you use the computer the problem is reproducible with, file a new report with Ubuntu by first ensuring the package xdiagnose is installed, and click the Yes button for attaching additional debugging information after running the following from a terminal:
ubuntu-bug xorg

Also, please feel free to subscribe me to it.