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undoIT

Member

Registered: 2016-04-24

Posts: 16

[SOLVED] Multi-touch Gestures for Macbook Air

There is a problem with the synaptics (xf86-input-synaptics) driver that prevents 3 and 4 finger gestures from registering with touchegg etc. There used to be a patch in AUR called xf86-input-synaptics-mtpatch but that was dropped. There is also this patch in github which fixes 3 and 4 finger gestures, but it breaks moving the cursor with one finger.

https://github.com/cotko/archlinux-xf86 … cs-mtpatch

I have tried mtrack and just about every other option but have been unable to get the touchpad working as expected. Perhaps the current xf86-input-synaptics needs to be patched. I had a look at the file that would be patched and the code is different, so the old patch is irrelevant. Any ideas?

Last edited by undoIT (2016-08-09 21:21:06)

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undoIT

Member

Registered: 2016-04-24

Posts: 16

Re: [SOLVED] Multi-touch Gestures for Macbook Air

I finally got it working and there is 100% pure Arch awesomeness with full gesture support on my Macbook Air! I had to install an xf86-input-synaptics driver from AUR. There are a few options that may work, but I went with this one as it appears to be based off the most recent version of the xf86-input-synaptics driver as of posting:

yaourt -S xf86-input-synaptics-xswipe-git

That will enable 4 finger gestures. To get 3 finger gestures recognized as well, the following option needs to be set:

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/50-synaptics.conf

and add:

Option "ClickFinger3" "0"

Log out and then in again.

After installing the driver and adjusting the configuration file, 3 and 4 finger gestures are fully supported in touchegg and I am enjoying maximum productivity while using my Macbook Air

Just wanted to post this to save time fiddling around for anyone else who may have been experiencing the same issue. Hopefully, the official xf86-input-synaptics driver and/or related desktop environment support for multi-touch gestures is eventually updated.

Loving Arch! I have it installed on four of my laptops now

Last edited by undoIT (2016-08-10 00:39:58)

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