Disable Touchpad Temporarily When Typing September 20, 2006
Posted by Carthik in commands, guides, looks and feel, ubuntu.trackback
Earlier, I wrote about how to enable/disable your touchpad using the synclient command.
Recently, I faced a different problem. When typing on the new laptop that I got, my thumb often accidentally brushes the touchpad, and this leads to me continuing to type things in entirely a different place. This is because the thumb moves the mouse pointer to a different spot that where the typing cursor is, and then there is an accidental click. Argh! very annoying.
The good news is, I figured out how to fix this using syndaemon!
syndaemon watches activity on the keyboard and can disable your synaptics touchpad for a variable period after it detects activity on the keyboard. Here’s how I use it:
First, I edited the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file and added the Option “SHMConfig” “on” line to the section called “Input Device” for the Synaptic Touchpad input device.
Then I restarted X (by using the ctrl+alt+backspace key combination).
Once I was logged in, I used syndaemon as $syndaemon -t -d
The -t option specifies that only the tapping and scrolling actions are to be disabled, I can still move the cursor around while typing on the keyboard.
The -d option asks syndaemon to run in the background as a daemon, so I don’t have to keep the terminal open after executing the command.
You can disable the touchpad entirely by not using the -t option.
By default, syndaemon disables the touchpad for 2 seconds after the last keyboard activity. You can change this by specifying the idle-time using the -i option. Read the manual for all details: $man syndaemon.
To make syndaemon start up by default each time you login, add it to the list of Startup Programs in System->Preferences->Sessions. I have the following command added there now: syndaemon -t -d. Log out and log back in to see if its working for you.
[...] Update: To learn how to disable the touchpad temporarily when you are typing, read this other recent article. I needed a quick way to disable and enable my synaptics touchpad at will, and I found one. [...]
Pretty useful one.
yep awesome, but i have already got used to not touch it will typing :P. That’s definitely a must have feature for laptop.
that’s great. I would file it as a feature request (integrated part of edgy, as an option under system > preference > keyboard)
[...] Ever get tied of your touchpad… you want to keep it enabled, but wouldn’t it be nice to sort of disable it automatically while your typing? Well… you can — check this out. [...]
I like the idea of this happening automatically when I am typing.It’s the right thing to do.
Alternatively, I filed a bug for the mouse control panel a while ago, requesting a checkbox to turn off touchpad clicking permanently:
http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=324612
This should be the default.
Can some one tell me how to change my password
This should indeed be the default; a checkbox that’s automatically ticked by default can go into preferences if it’s really important, although I think that it should just do this. The only issue is that SHMConfig is a bit of a risk in multi-user environments where any other user can turn off your touchpad! I’d recommend submitting this as a feature request, definitely. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the useful post!
[...] de pesquisar um pouco, encontrei uma dica para desabilitar o touchpad e um bom tutorial para configurá-lo. Combinando as duas com uma dica de um amigo (valeu, [...]
my touchpad doesnt work for like.. 1 month now, fn+f7 doesnt work i tried reinstalling.. it doesnt work.. anyone knows what to do ? plz e-mail me at rs_jtbtje@hotmail.com
i also dont get the option to turn it on or off, at device manager
Created a simple on/off script (bash) and assigned it to a key combo on my keyboard (t in my case)
Make sure “SHMConfig” “on” is set in xorg.conf like stated above.
#– script –
#!/bin/bash
STATE=`synclient -l | grep TouchpadOff | awk ‘{ print $3 }’`
if [ "$STATE" == "0" ]
then
synclient TouchpadOff=1 | zenity –info –text “TouchPad is now off”
else
synclient TouchpadOff=0 | zenity –info –text “Touchpad is now on”
fi
#–end script–
As you can see i used zenity (gnome) to notify the current state in your X session, you can change it or even leave it out if you do not want to be notified about the state.
[...] thing that continues to be annoying is the sensitivity of the touchpad. I did find a helpful post for disabling the touchpad while typing, which was a significant help. Still, when I do try to use the touchpad, it sometimes seems to have [...]
In Fedora there is a touchpad utility that controls syndaemon, but I cannot find it in Ubuntu. Any idea what it is called? This Dell Inspiron has the most sensitive touchpad you’ve ever seen.
[...] Here’s a great tip from Ubuntu Blog: Recently, I faced a different problem. When typing on the new laptop that I got, my thumb often accidentally brushes the touchpad, and this leads to me continuing to type things in entirely a different place. This is because the thumb moves the mouse pointer to a different spot that where the typing cursor is, and then there is an accidental click. Argh! very annoying.The good news is, I figured out how to fix this using syndaemon! [...]
thanks for the post, t’was great help! before it would’ve been hell to write this comment
try this software:
http://www.kingzm.com/eng/files/download/MouseManager.zip
This software is designed for these people who use several mouse.
For example, a person uses notebook PC and installed USB mouse as well.
it can set the different work state for each mouse and quickly switch primary and secondary buttons .
My e-mail address is zmxiu_2004@163.com
How to enable the touchpad after I have already disabled it? Because now I cannot move the mouse around and I’m basically stuck without it until I figure out how to turn it back on.
Just goto Dell’s driver page and download the latest “Dell” driver set. It has a toggle option to disable touchpad and stick when a USB pointing device is present.
Sorry all, I just realized that you all were talking about linux… I think. Nevermind my posts.
I think ICQ’s logo lends themselves to always
How to enable the touchpad after I have already disabled it? Because now I cannot move the mouse around and I’m basically stuck without it until I figure out how to turn it back on.
Danielle, 网站推广, use the keyboard. Alt+F1 opens the “applications” menu and you can run a terminal.
By the way… I have heard of folks trying to get their hands on copies of the Green Apron Book.
They are intended to be a partner-only tool… and have been printed in a limited number.
If you want to learn more, check out the book “The Starbucks Experience” by Joseph Machello. He talks all about the books… and more.
燃烧器
[...] Touchpad - syndaemon [...]
[...] blog post provides a simple solution to this annoying problem. Synaptic Touchpad [...]
just his fn and f7 together.
atleast thats what disables mine and when your done typing then hit them again together. smiple as that
[...] Dad and other people that deal with laptop touchpads: http://ubuntu.wordpress.com/2006/09/20/disable-touchpad-temporarily-when-typing/; apparently you can make the touchpad disable itself while you’re typing, to avoid the [...]
Definitely a useful post — especially for an aspiring author.
windows vista hotmail not working
haha gotta love Windows…