Arch Linux

latgarf

Member

Registered: 2012-12-14

Posts: 32

[SOLVED] Touchpad toggle via libinput

To toggle touchpad I used the following script (according to arch wiki):

#!/bin/bash
synclient TouchpadOff=$(synclient -l | grep -c 'TouchpadOff.*=.*0')

This stopped working after xf86-input-synaptics was replaced with xf86-input-libinput. How do I toggle touchpad now?

Last edited by latgarf (2017-11-23 14:34:23)

seth

Member

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 50,983

Re: [SOLVED] Touchpad toggle via libinput

"xinput disable <device>" - I'm not sure whether anything was "replaced", though - xf86-input-synaptics is unmaintained but available.

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latgarf

Member

Registered: 2012-12-14

Posts: 32

Re: [SOLVED] Touchpad toggle via libinput

Thanks, Seth! I found this ubuntu help page useful, and borrowed their toggle script:

#!/bin/bash
if xinput list-props 13 | grep "Device Enabled (137):.*1" >/dev/null
then
  xinput disable 13
  notify-send -u low -i mouse "Trackpad disabled"
else
  xinput enable 13
  notify-send -u low -i mouse "Trackpad enabled"
fi

If I recall correctly, with the introduction of libinput, at install, a conflict was shown between xf86-input-synaptics and xf86-input-libinput. I chose to install libinput, hence breaking my usual way to toggle touchpad.

seth

Member

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 50,983

Re: [SOLVED] Touchpad toggle via libinput

fcs: xf86-input-synaptics and xf86-input-libinput packages do not list mutual conflicts.
You should still be able to use xf86-input-synaptics (whether that's a good idea is a different matter and cannot be answered in general. Rule of thumb is to use libinput and resort to synaptics when libinput fails on you or lacks crucial features)

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