synclient - query and modify Synaptics TouchPad driver for XOrg/XFree86 server parameters on the fly.

synclient [-m interval] synclient [-hlV?] [var1=value1 [var2=value2] ...]

This program lets you change your Synaptics TouchPad driver for XOrg/XFree86 server parameters while X is running if you enabled SHMConfig "on" in your XOrg/XFree86 configuration.

WARNING: This is not secure if you are in an untrusted multiuser

environment. All local users can change the parameters at any time.

-m interval

monitor changes to the touchpad state. Interval specifies how often (in ms) to poll the touchpad state. Whenever a change in the touchpad state is detected, one line of output is generated that describes the current state of the touchpad. The following data is included in the output.

time

Time in seconds since the logging was started.

x,y

The x/y coordinates of the finger on the touchpad. The origin is in the upper left corner.

z

The "pressure" value. Pressing the finger harder on the touchpad typically produces a larger value. Note that most touchpads don't measure the real pressure though. Instead, capacitance is usually measured, which is correlated to the contact area between the finger and the touchpad. Since more pressure usually means a larger contact area, the reported pressure value is at least indirectly related to the real pressure.

f

The number of fingers currently touching the touchpad. Note that only some touchpads can report more than one finger. Generally, synaptics touchpads can, but ALPS touchpads can't.

w

The w value is a measurement of the finger width. This is only supported by some synaptics touchpads. Touchpads that can't measure the finger width typically report a faked constant value when a finger is touching the touchpad.

l,r,u,d,m,multi

The state of the left, right, up, down, middle and multi buttons. Zero means not pressed, one means pressed. Not all touchpads have all these buttons. If a button doesn't exist, the value is always reported as 0.

gl,gm,gr

Some touchpads have a "guest device". This is typically a pointing stick located in the middle of the keyboard. Some guest devices have physical buttons, or can detect button presses when tapping on the pointing stick. Such button events are reported as "guest left", "guest middle" or "guest right".

gdx,gdy

Pointer movements from the guest device are reported as relative x/y positions, called gdx and gdy.

-h

Show detected hardware properties.

-l

List current user settings.

-V

Print version number and exit.

-?

Show the help message.

var=value

Set user parameter var to value.

/etc/X11/xorg.conf

/etc/X11/XF86Config-4

To disable EdgeMotionSpeed:

synclient EdgeMotionSpeed=0

To monitor touchpad events:

synclient -m 100

Peter Osterlund <petero2@telia.com> and many others.