Offing One's Touchpad

[utu]

I prefer a nano/mouse to a touchpad on my laptop.

I think I occasionally I may 'fall into' my touchpad
making things happen I didn't intend, like losing
all the text I've spent time putting into something
or other.

I thought 'disabling the touchpad' might
solve my problem.

Well, I can input TouchpadOff=1 to a terminal and
get some temporary relief. But when I try to get the
same action by putting this command in /etc/rc.local,
I get nada, nothing, zilch. Sudos and Sleeps don't help.

I'm not used to being ignored this way by /etc/rc.local.
Can someone explain this to me, or better yet, tell
me how to get what I want?

I just want to write a few symbols somewhere that
will disable my touchpad until such time as I want
to undo this with a similar simple process.

Enormous praise and great fame awaits the first
really good answer to my problem.

[dinosoep]

Yeah, I've been put down by rc.local too :(
but when I type touchpadoff=1 in the terminal nothing happens.

what happens if you put the command in /mnt-system/KNOPPIX/knoppix.sh? (if non-existing, create it)

[utu]

@dinosoep

touchpadoff=1 aint right.
It's TouchpadOff=1
After you enter that, you should get no action from the touchpad.
That works, but it's temporary.

My problem is that something occurs LATER than /etc/rc.local which resets this.
I get into other troubles using /home/knoppix/.bash_profile.

No enormous praise for you.
Think bigger.

[klaus2008]

I think that it should be possible to disable the touchpad in a configuration file /etc/X11/Xsession.d/15x11-synaptics with the following content

#
synclient "TouchpadOff=1"
#

[utu]

@dinosoep

I thought the knoppix.sh= idea might work, too.
Mild praise appropriate for your good idea.
But, it doesn't do the trick.
I tried this as an input stream knoppix.sh=/home/knoppix/.bash_idea
...where .bash_idea is a script I KNOW works (temporarily).


@ klaus2008

Hi, klaus. Here's my choices:

knoppix@Microknoppix:/etc/X11/Xsession.d$ ls -a
. 75dbus_dbus-launch
.. 80im-switch
20x11-common_process-args 90consolekit
30x11-common_xresources 90gpg-agent
40x11-common_xsessionrc 90x11-common_ssh-agent
45knoppix 98vboxadd-xclient
50x11-common_determine-startup 99x11-common_start
52libcanberra-gtk-module_add-to-gtk-modules

Any of these seem appropriate?
And can I edit one of these files 'live'?

[utu]

Sorry, the DOG ate my whitespaces:

knoppix@Microknoppix:/etc/X11/Xsession.d$ ls -a
.................................................. ............75dbus_dbus-launch
.................................................. ............80im-switch
20x11-common_process-args....................90consolekit
30x11-common_xresources......................90gpg-agent
40x11-common_xsessionrc.......................90x11-common_ssh-agent
45knoppix......................................... ......98vboxadd-xclient
50x11-common_determine-startup...........99x11-common_start
52libcanberra-gtk-module_add-to-gtk-modules

[klaus2008]

I think that it would be a good idea to create a new configuration file /etc/X11/Xsession.d/15x11-synaptics because creating a new file is as easy as editing an old one. In both cases you need to be root. I would use the editor leafpad by issuing
sudo leafpad /etc/X11/Xsession.d/15x11-synaptics in a terminal.

After you have created or edited the configuration file you must restart you Xserver in order that the new configuration will be used. In most cases it will be sufficient to hit the key combination Ctrl-Alt-Backspace. But do not forget to save your work before you restart the Xserver.

[Forester]

I'm not used to being ignored this way by /etc/rc.local.
Can someone explain this to me ?


Ah.

rc.local (and knoppix.sh) are run from knoppix-autoconfig, which executes in a root context at run level 2. X-11 is started during the transition from run level 2 to run level 5. You are trying to change a setting in X-11 before it is there to influence.

In layman's terms, you are trying to toss the omelette before you've broken the eggs.

Did you know that the gnome desktop has a setting "Ignore touchpad while typing" ? I don't know of an equivalent in any other desktop.

[utu]

@ Klaus2008

Your one-line solution works like a charm.
I am mystified, since xorg.conf is UNCHANGED.
Even so, the laptop's touchpad IS turned off.
It is gone for both root and knoppix users.

The only problem I see is one would have to
review the /etc/X11/Xsession.d/ entries to have
a clue that a change was made and how to undo it.

Is there a way to transfer a comment on 15x11 to
the changed xorg.conf so as to alert folks to
what's been done?

Anyway, the enormous praise and great fame are
well deserved. Thanks much.

[utu]

@ forester

I presume you refer to LXDE main menu/System tools/Configuration editor,
but I've never understood just how to work that monstrosity.
I wasn't even sure it applied to 6.4.4.
Is there an instruction manual somewhere?

What I was looking for was equivalent to Win7 choice of disable
the Touchpad if another pointer was installed; not just suspend while typing.

& Thanks for reducing these ideas to match my level of expertise.

[Forester]

Is there a way to transfer a comment on 15x11 to
the changed xorg.conf so as to alert folks to
what's been done?


Umm ...

You've got /etc/X11. In there are (amongst others), are a configuration file and two scripts:


xorg.conf
Xreset
Xsession
and three directories:


xorg.conf.d
Xreset.d
Xsession.dSo if you wanted to put a comment somewhere to the effect you'd added a script to Xsession.d you'd put it in Xsession, not xorg.conf.

But since the whole point of the directory Xsession.d is so that packages and people can add stuff to the X session start-up without actually editing the file Xsession (so that it too can be upgraded sans sourci), adding comments to Xsession to say you'd added something in Xsession.d might be seen as rather missing the point. :)

[Forester]

touchpadoff=1 aint right.
It's TouchpadOff=1


@dinosoep

If you're still confused, I think there's an silent synclient in there somewhere. Try:

synclient TouchpadOff=1

[Forester]

I presume you refer to LXDE main menu/System tools/Configuration editor,
but I've never understood just how to work that monstrosity.
I wasn't even sure it applied to 6.4.4.
Is there an instruction manual somewhere?


@utu
You've got that with only the CD edition ? May be bits of it are honoured by LXDE. Documentation ? Try http://www.gnome.org/.

@anyone else
Anyway, anyone can turn off the annoying touchpad behaviour while typing. Where ever utu put:


synclient TouchpadOff=1

instead put:


syndaemon -d -t -k