Ubuntu 14.04 missing Synaptics Touchpad Utility

[tecknomage]

My previous version of Ubuntu 13.10 allowed me to install a Synamptic Touchpad tool that had a setting to disable my ThinkPad touchpad when my mouse was connected.

In the Starup Applications list it is [Synaptiks Ttouchpad]

After upgarde this utility is missing from Ubuntu 14.04 and not in Ubuntu Software Store. How can I get it back

Note that in Ubuntu 13.10 I got the utility from the store.

[caver12]

Do this;
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install synaptics

[Navneet_Kumar]

sudo apt-get install synaptiks

Hope this helps

[russomarco]

As you can see on the package page on launchpad, synaptiks has been developed until Ubuntu 13.10. I tried installing the package for 13.10 on 14.04 but it conflicts with the default Ubuntu Mouse & Touchpad utility.

A package for 14.04 could be made available in the future, but I'm not sure about that.

Since I was missing this utility too, and the default one is missing some customization options, in the meantime I'm using Gpointing device settings. It is pretty good and it has an option to disable the touchpad if a mouse is connected. You can find it in the Software Center. Hope it helps!

[hut_mit]

you can try 2 finger touch your touchpad.

[caver12]

If you would do some research you would find that synaptiks is no longer being maintained. That is probably why it is not in the 14.04 repositories.I thinkIpointed you to that information before elsehttps://github.com/synaptiks/synaptiks ware.
look at- https://github.com/synaptiks/synaptiks

[russomarco]

UPDATE: Gpointing device settings doesn't save settings after reboot/shutdown and I couldn't find a solution for it. So, I had to use xinput from the terminal. This is how you do it:

1) Check the name of your device:

xinput list

2) See available options for your device:

xinput list-props "Your Device Name"

3) Edit settings (to make settings consistent after reboot/shutdown just add this command to Startup Applications):

xinput set-prop "Your Device Name" "Option Name" "Value"

Here is an example command I used to activate locked drags in my touchpad:

xinput set-prop "SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad" "Synaptics Locked Drags" 1

To activate/change another option just look for it in your device available options and play with them until you get the desired result, then add the command to Startup Applications and you're done! Hope it helps! : )

[pretty_whistle]

If the OP still has this issue here's the fix (I did it on mine):

Go into applications, settings, and find "mouse and touchpad". Select the touchpad from the drop down list and uncheck it to disable it.

That's it. This will solve it. Synaptics wont install on 14.04 but this will work instead.

Good luck.

[russomarco]

SECOND UPDATE: Instead of the terminal method explained above, if you need just some simple tweaks like disabling touchpad while mouse is connected, you can use touchpad-indicator:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install touchpad-indicator

[walterorlin]

I think there is another method to turn it on and off is synclinet touchpadoff=1 to a keybinding in ~/.config/openbox and synclient toucpadoff=0 to another key or make a script that makes one act as a toggle button.