Ubuntu – Really disable touchpad over the button region

16.04click-policymulti-touchsynapticstouchpad

I just installed ubuntu 16.04 as a dual boot with (pre-installed) Windows (just in case I need it twice a year…) on my new HP Spectre x360 13-ac004nf. Under Windows, the touchpad works fine and intuitively, but on Ubuntu it's almost unusable. The problem is that the zone of the buttons is sensitive. In other words, the touchpad does not look like that:

enter image description here

but like that:

enter image description here

And everytime I lay a finger on the left button zone (not clicking), the pointer stops moving because the system detects a two-finger gesture. Here is the configuation returned by synclient:

Parameter settings:
    LeftEdge                = 1605
    RightEdge               = 5337
    TopEdge                 = 1369
    BottomEdge              = 4487
    FingerLow               = 25
    FingerHigh              = 30
    MaxTapTime              = 180
    MaxTapMove              = 248
    MaxDoubleTapTime        = 100
    SingleTapTimeout        = 180
    ClickTime               = 100
    EmulateMidButtonTime    = 0
    EmulateTwoFingerMinZ    = 282
    EmulateTwoFingerMinW    = 7
    VertScrollDelta         = -113
    HorizScrollDelta        = -113
    VertEdgeScroll          = 0
    HorizEdgeScroll         = 0
    CornerCoasting          = 0
    VertTwoFingerScroll     = 1
    HorizTwoFingerScroll    = 1
    MinSpeed                = 1
    MaxSpeed                = 1.75
    AccelFactor             = 0.0353857
    TouchpadOff             = 2
    LockedDrags             = 0
    LockedDragTimeout       = 5000
    RTCornerButton          = 2
    RBCornerButton          = 3
    LTCornerButton          = 0
    LBCornerButton          = 0
    TapButton1              = 1
    TapButton2              = 3
    TapButton3              = 0
    ClickFinger1            = 1
    ClickFinger2            = 3
    ClickFinger3            = 0
    CircularScrolling       = 0
    CircScrollDelta         = 0.1
    CircScrollTrigger       = 0
    CircularPad             = 0
    PalmDetect              = 0
    PalmMinWidth            = 10
    PalmMinZ                = 200
    CoastingSpeed           = 20
    CoastingFriction        = 50
    PressureMotionMinZ      = 30
    PressureMotionMaxZ      = 160
    PressureMotionMinFactor = 1
    PressureMotionMaxFactor = 1
    ResolutionDetect        = 1
    GrabEventDevice         = 0
    TapAndDragGesture       = 1
    AreaLeftEdge            = 0
    AreaRightEdge           = 0
    AreaTopEdge             = 0
    AreaBottomEdge          = 0
    HorizHysteresis         = 28
    VertHysteresis          = 28
    ClickPad                = 1
    RightButtonAreaLeft     = 3471
    RightButtonAreaRight    = 0
    RightButtonAreaTop      = 4087
    RightButtonAreaBottom   = 0
    MiddleButtonAreaLeft    = 0
    MiddleButtonAreaRight   = 0
    MiddleButtonAreaTop     = 0
    MiddleButtonAreaBottom  = 0

and here is what is returned by less /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep -i range:

[     5.776] (--) synaptics: SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad: x-axis range 1302 - 5640 (res 37)
[     5.776] (--) synaptics: SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad: y-axis range 1116 - 4740 (res 64)
[     5.776] (--) synaptics: SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad: pressure range 0 - 255
[     5.776] (--) synaptics: SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad: finger width range 0 - 15

I tried to play with AreaBottomEdge, but it only disable the moving detection… Which means that the touchpad still detect that there is another finger touching it, and it enters double-fingers gesture mode (scrolling). I would like my touchpad to behave like a touchpad with separate buttons (like the first image) and not detect anything over the zone of the buttons. How to make that happen?

Best Answer

I'm not sure there is a technical solution to your problem. If it were me, I'd probably just plug in a mouse, turn the touch pad off, and call it a day.

Non-technical solution

When you can't find a software based solution, shift gears. Try getting some card stock or something. Heavier than printer paper and lighter than cardboard. Figure out how many layers you're going to need. Cut out just enough to cover the buttons on the touch pad button area and fix it to the touch pad with a little hot glue or something else that will be easy to remove later.

It may not be pretty, but your buttons won't be touch sensitive anymore, and you'll still be able to push on them to left- and right-click.

Related Question