Manual editing of /etc/X11/xorg.conf required

[Stefan]

Binary package hint: wacom-tools

The current (Dapper flight 7) package of wacom-tools requires manual editing of /etc/X11/xorg.conf in order to:

- add the correct device entry for USB tablets

- remove the "ForceDevice ISDV4" option when the computer in question is not a tablet PC

The suggested (commented out) device entry for USB tablets is also incorrect: it is the non-existent "/dev/input/event", where in reality this needs to be a specific "/dev/input/eventX" (in my case, "/dev/input/event4"), or a symlink pointing to it.

In addition:

- According to bug #40473, the existing device entry for serial tablets is incorrect.

- The mouse device "/dev/input/mice" intercepts Wacom tablet events so that no specific tablet functionality is availabe. See the following webpage on how to solve this problem:

http://linuxwacom.sourceforge.net/index.php/howto/mouse1

(For this last subproblem, see bug #44481 and bug #44482.)

In any case, the user should not be required to perform any manual editing of system configuration files to be able to use his tablet. An automatic solution, maybe involving udev and device symlinks, is needed.

[Stefan (stfn2)]

I would also suggest that USB tablets are the most widely used type today, so if (as a temporary solution) the default /etc/X11/xorg.conf has to choose between specific devices and options, it should support USB tablets over serial tablets and built‐in tablets (i.e., tablet PC). (The current default configuration favors serial and built‐in over USB.)

[Loïc Martin (loic-martin3)]

Hi Stephan, your bug seems a duplicate of Bug #40473.
The good news is it seems to be in progress (assigned to Matthew Garrett)