Ubuntu – How to configure a Logitech M705 to use stepless scrolling

logitechlogitech-unifyingmousemouse-wheelscrolling

I'm using a Logitech K750(keyboard) and M705(mouse) using the same (one!) unifying USB connector. I paired them with my mac, but use them on my desktop with Ubuntu 12.10. Works nice. Just a few adjustments I'd like to do.

This mouse allows to disable the "steps" of the scroll wheel easily, which enables me on the mac to scroll stepless like using a touchpad. I'm not talking about smooth scrolling but stepless scrolling! This does somehow not work on Ubuntu. Is there no possibility to do this? This mouse also supports horizontal scrolling (not stepless). Is there a way to adjust these features? Maybe in xorg.conf? Maybe someone has a mouse xorg.conf-section I can experiment with?

xev | grep button tells me there's no difference between using the wheel with or without steps (Button 4 and 5). So the thing should just be a question of software interpretation. At least it's a question of making steps smaller (1 pixel?) and enable acceleration, I think.

Best Answer

This is currently the best solution I found, although I think at this time, its smooth scrolling feature is not yet useable. In future, native, driver-based solutions have to be made to support mice and touchpads which support smooth scrolling. Especially on a desktop system like Ubuntu.

Solaar

There is an application called Solaar which offers many possibilities to unifying-devices from Logitech, like battery status, pairing options (awesome!) and smooth scrolling. Unfortunately, smooth scrolling does not work that great; it does not scroll as smoothly as on OS X, and it only scrolls the last active window, not the mouse-overed window (tested on 13.04). But it's in every way a useful application and its smooth scrolling feature is something I hope gets improved with future updates.

Homepage: http://pwr.github.io/Solaar/

Installation

Open a Terminal via the Unity dash or CTRL+ALT+T and paste in the following lines:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:daniel.pavel/solaar
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install solaar

Usage

Start Solaar via the Unity dash, for example.
If you see a popup recommending to replug the unifying-receiver, do it.
There should appear a tray icon looking like a battery. If you open it and click on a device, you'll see information about your devices.
On the right of the entry for your mouse should be a settings icon. Click it and a "smooth scrolling" option should appear.
Try it, it's easy to disable again in case it does not work for you.
If you experience problems like the horizontal scrolling does not work, try replugging the receiver again.

Related Solutions

Ubuntu – How to remap the search button on the Logitech MX400

To simulate keyboard events I suggest you the great tool xdotool Install xdotool .

1. Install xdotool via terminal (CTRL+ALT+T):

sudo apt-get install xdotool

or use the Software Center Install xdotool .

2. Create a script that uses xdotool to emulate the key down events of CTRL and v. In the terminal:

mkdir -p ~/bin  
gedit ~/bin/fakepaste

Copy the following content into the editor window that opened up. After copying the code save, then close it:

#!/bin/sh
exec /usr/bin/xdotool key CTRL+V  
EOF

Now make the script executable:

chmod +x ~/bin/fakepaste

3. Log out and log in to reload your PATH.

4. Create the custom shortcut

Go to System Settings, then go to Keyboard, then Shortcuts.

Press the + button at the bottom of the dialog. Provide a name for the shortcut you're about to create and for the command fill in: fakepaste. Press OK.

Next to your new shortcut you will see disabled. Click on that text and then press the key you want to be assigned to your keyboard emulation.

You should now be able to use your search key for pasting!

Ubuntu – How to change Function (Fn) Key behavior on wireless Logitech keyboard

Solaar is a graphical utility that has the ability to configure the Fn key functionality on newer devices:

Solaar screenshot with Fn function swap configuration

Since Ubuntu 15.04 (Vivid), Solaar can be installed from the repositories (sudo apt-get install solaar). After installation, you can search for Solaar in the applications menu and start it from there.

A command line interface is also available. Example usage:

$ solaar show
...
  2: Wireless Illuminated Keyboard K800
...
$ solaar config 2
fn-swap = False
$ solaar config 2 fn-swap on
fn-swap = True

Note that these settings are not persistent, you will loose it after reboot. This may change in future versions of Solaar.

I have previously created the ltunify tool which is a Unifying tool that is able to communicate in the older HID++ 1.0 protocol. Until the next version of Solaar is released (current version is 0.8.7), you can use ltunify to toggle the Fn key on an older device such as the K800 keyboard.

Installation instructions (taken from https://askubuntu.com/a/114089/6969):

sudo apt-get install git gcc
git clone https://git.lekensteyn.nl/ltunify.git -b fkeyswap
cd ltunify
make install-home

The command ltunify fkeyswap shows the current status:

$ sudo ltunify fkeyswap 
F key functions are not swapped

To swap the functionality, run ltunify fkeyswap on:

$ sudo ltunify fkeyswap on
F key functions are now swapped

There is also an off action:

$ sudo ltunify fkeyswap off
F key functions are now normal

Please leave a comment if it does not work so it can be fixed. The above functionality uses undocumented hardware registers.