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Calixte

6 Posts

11436

March 28th, 2018 13:00

XPS 13 9350, Ubuntu 17.10, touchpad issues

After upgrading to the non-supported Ubuntu 17.10, the touchpad configuration is messed up. Side scrolling doesn't work anymore and something about either the palm detection is completely off so that the text cursor randomly jumps when I type. This same problem happened again after a complete reset. Is there a way I can load the original touchpad driver/configuration that was for the supported Ubuntu 14.04?

Calixte

6 Posts

April 5th, 2018 04:00

Ubuntu 14.04 was indeed installed from the factory, but the problem arose after upgrading the OS according to normal procedure, having installed no third party software. I have, however, managed to solve the problem myself. I posted the solution below for anyone who may have the same problem as me.

Notes for beginners: 

Spoiler
  • Copying and pasting on the terminal is done with "Ctrl+Alt+C" and "Ctrl+Alt+V"
  • The command "sudo" enables you to edit system files as "root"(administrator) which you wouldn't be able to otherwise. The terminal will ask you for your password the first time you use it.
Copying and pasting on the terminal is done with "Ctrl+Alt+C" and "Ctrl+Alt+V" The command "sudo" enables you to edit system files as "root"(administrator) which you wouldn't be able to otherwise. The terminal will ask you for your password the first time you use it.

Easy step-by-step solution:

There should be a file named "70-synaptics.conf" in "/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/". To check, type the following in the terminal: 

ls /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d

If "70-synaptics.conf" is present, it should appear within the list. If it doesn't, check for "50-synaptics.conf" or something similar and proceed replacing all mentions with that file. However, you should not edit that file as the changes you made to it will be overwritten next time you upgrade. 

Instead, copy and paste the file to "/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/" 

sudo cp -i /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/70-synaptics.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/70-synaptics.conf 

Open the file with your text editor: 

sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/70-synaptics.conf

Add the following lines to the file:  

#This section was added by the user
Section "InputClass"
        Identifier "touchpad catchall"
        Driver "synaptics"
        MatchIsTouchpad "on"
# Add all options below
        MatchDevicePath "/dev/input/event*"        Option "PalmDetect" "1"
        Option "HorizTwoFingerScroll" "1"
EndSection

You can also add other options. The full list can be viewed by typing "synclient" in the terminal. 

The ones added here are:  

Option "PalmDetect" "1" #reenables palm detection
Option "HorizTwoFingerScroll" "1" #reenables horizontal scrolling 

I also added a couple of other options, decribed below: 

Option "ClickFinger3" "2" #enables "middle mouse button" with a 3-finger tap
Option "TapButton3" "2" #enables "middle mouse button" with a 3-finger click
Option "VertEdgeScroll" "0" #disables scrolling using the edge of the touchpad

Additionally, you should also try adding and changing the values of the two options below if palm detection remains wonky (shown below with their default values): 

Option "PalmMinWidth" "10"
Option "PalmMinZ" "200" 

 

robert p

9.4K Posts

March 29th, 2018 09:00

Hi Calixte,

Thanks for posting.  Apologies that your system is not performing as expected.

Unfortunately if the Ubuntu OS wasn't installed from the factory, it would not be supported by Dell.  However you may be able to get some assistance with your question from here:  

canonical.com

rept

3 Posts

August 6th, 2018 06:00

Hi,

@Dell totally unhelpful response!

@Calixte I'm getting this error:

cp: cannot create regular file '/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/70-synaptics.conf': No such file or directory

The directory /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ doesn't exist.  (using Ubuntu 18 though).

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