Touchpad KCM module should enable/disable touchpad

[Glen Ditchfield]

It would be helpful if the Touchpad control module in package kde-config-touchpad had an "enable/disable touchpad" checkbox.

For instance, running Kubuntu 12.04.3 on an HP EliteBook 8440p, when I press the "toggle ambient light sensor" key Fn-F11, the touchpad and all touchpad buttons are disabled. Pressing the key again does not re-enable them. Meanwhile, pressing the actual "toggle touchpad" button does nothing. The only way to repair the damage is to edit ~/.kde/share/config/ktouchpadenablerrc, log out, and log back in.

A Kubuntu user might open System Settings and search it for "touchpad", but the Input Devices > Touchpad configuration module doesn't provide a way to toggle the touchpad.

Ubuntu release: 12.04.3 LTS
kde-config-touchpad version: 0.8.1-1ubuntu1.1
See also: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=329382

[Harald Sitter (apachelogger)]

A replacement for synaptiks is being worked on for 14.04 which (if I recall correctly) has a tray icon which provides this ability. Unfortunately this won't be fixed for synaptiks (i.e. any release before 14.04).