[gentoo-user] synaptics support in xorg

[gentoo-user] synaptics support in xorg

[Maxim Wexler]

Hi group,

According to 'The X Server Configuration HOWTO'

"If you use alternative input devices, such as a Synaptics touchpad
for a laptop, be sure to add it to INPUT_DEVICES. "

So I put in make.conf INPUT_DEVICES="mouse keyboard synaptics" and did
emerge -pv xorg-server.

In the output after INPUT_DEVICES I saw keyboard, mouse and evdev in
red and synaptics in blue with a minus sigh. So I removed keyboard and
mouse from the line in make.conf. Same result. Don't know where evdev
comes from; I never specified it anywhere.

Only by explicitly entering INPUT_DEVICES="synaptics" emerge -pv
xorg-server was I able to see, after INPUT_DEVICES in the output, the
word synaptics in green with an asterisk at the end. The words evdev,
keyboard and mouse appear further along in the output, also in green
ending in asterisks but  preceeded with a minus sign. And, that was
after re-adding mouse and keyboard to INPUT_DEVICES  in make.conf.

Questions:

Is this the right way to go? Why won't portage accept what's in
make.conf in this case? It accepts my USE flags and my VIDEO_CARDS
entry. What's with the green and the asterisk? Is the doc wrong? I
note it was updated just three weeks ago.

Maxim

Re: [gentoo-user] synaptics support in xorg

[Alan McKinnon]

On Tuesday 30 June 2009 02:44:10 Maxim Wexler wrote:
> Hi group,
>
> According to 'The X Server Configuration HOWTO'
>
> "If you use alternative input devices, such as a Synaptics touchpad
> for a laptop, be sure to add it to INPUT_DEVICES. "
>
> So I put in make.conf INPUT_DEVICES="mouse keyboard synaptics" and did
> emerge -pv xorg-server.
>
> In the output after INPUT_DEVICES I saw keyboard, mouse and evdev in
> red and synaptics in blue with a minus sigh. So I removed keyboard and
> mouse from the line in make.conf. Same result. Don't know where evdev
> comes from; I never specified it anywhere.
>
> Only by explicitly entering INPUT_DEVICES="synaptics" emerge -pv
> xorg-server was I able to see, after INPUT_DEVICES in the output, the
> word synaptics in green with an asterisk at the end. The words evdev,
> keyboard and mouse appear further along in the output, also in green
> ending in asterisks but  preceeded with a minus sign. And, that was
> after re-adding mouse and keyboard to INPUT_DEVICES  in make.conf.
>
> Questions:
>
> Is this the right way to go? Why won't portage accept what's in
> make.conf in this case? It accepts my USE flags and my VIDEO_CARDS
> entry. What's with the green and the asterisk? Is the doc wrong? I
> note it was updated just three weeks ago.
>
> Maxim

What X server version?

try this:

INPUT_DEVICES="mouse keyboard synaptics"
in make.conf

Colour codes:

Red	enabled
Blue	disabled
Green	changed

and the asterisks are described in man emerge section "--verbose"

INPUT_DEVICES="evdev" is likely default on in your profile
-- 
alan dot mckinnon at gmail dot com