Ubuntu – Is there a way to toggle touchpad on/off with a command/keyboard shortcut

You can place a small script that checks the current state under a shortcut key, and make it subsequently switch to the other state.

This works in a lot of situations, eg toggling the trackpad, toggling visibility of (many) indicator icons etc. (see EDIT, down in the post)

The script below does that:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import subprocess

key = "org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled"

cmd1 = "/bin/bash", "-c", "gsettings get "+key
new_state = "false" if subprocess.check_output(cmd1).decode("utf-8").strip()  == "true" else "true"
cmd2 = "gsettings set "+key+" "+new_state
subprocess.Popen(["/bin/bash", "-c", cmd2])

How to use

1. Copy the script into an empty file, save it as toggle_touchpad.py

2. Test-run it by running (in a terminal) the command:

   python3 /path/to/toggle_touchpad.py
   

3. If all works fine, add it to a shortcut key combination: choose: System Settings > "Keyboard" > "Shortcuts" > "Custom Shortcuts". Click the "+" and add the command:

   python3 /path/to/toggle_touchpad.py
   

Now the shortcut key should toggle the touchpad on/off

Explanation

The touchpad is enabled / disabled by the key:

org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled

To get the current state:

gsettings get org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled

To set to enabled

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled true

To set to disabled:

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled false

Notes

1. Using absolute paths in Custom keyboard shortcuts

Like in .desktop files, relative paths like ~ cannot be used in custom keyboard shortcuts. Also, just like in terminal commands, spaces need to be escaped:

Instead of:

python3 ~/Keyboard\ shortcuts/toggle_touchpad.py

use:

python3 /home/yourname/"Keyboard shortcuts"/toggle_touchpad.py

2. Using the command(s) in 15.04

Due to a bug (it seems) the command:

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled true 

works fine, however the command:

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled false

needs to run twice (!!) to disable the touchpad...

3. Bash version of the script

For those who prefer a bash version for some reason:

#!/bin/bash

key="org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled"
current=$(gsettings get $key)

if [ "$current" == "true" ]; then
  gsettings set $key false
else
  gsettings set $key true
fi

Save it as toggle_touchpad.sh, run it with the command

/bin/bash /path/to/toggle_touchpad.sh

EDIT

The script(s) above can be used to toggle any setting, done by a gsettings command, of the type boolean (false/true). Simply change the line:

key = "org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled"

By the corresponding key.

An example:

If I change the line to:

key = "com.canonical.indicator.sound visible"

It toggles visibility of the sound indicator icon.

I found the answer to my own question, and so wanted to share what worked for me in case others are stuck. Pilot6's answer to the same question asked for 16.04 works with a little modification for 18.04. The following steps solve the issue:

1. Install "libinput-tools" (this package name is slightly different from 16.04) and dependencies in terminal by running the following commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install libinput-tools

2. Then enter the following line in terminal

sudo gedit /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/40-libinput.conf

3. The file will open in text editor. In the touchpad section, just before the line indicating the end of the section, add the following line:

Option "HorizontalScrolling" "False"

4. Save and close the configuration file and restart. Horizontal scrolling should be disabled.