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Ubuntu is said to have a 'generic driver' - does this mean it is missing features? There are a few features I miss from my touchpad under windows. I will list some of them here:

1.) Circular scrolling: continuous scroll for BOTH vertical and horizontal scrolling that KEEPS moving only up or only down with any given direction or rotation of the finger (not the thing where if you were scrolling down and continuing the stroke with a rotation that it scrolls up when your finger starts moving up, or down when your finger starts moving down)

2.) The ability to have one finger on the bottom of the touchpad (making contact) for clicking and another on the upper part for general movements

3.) Windows' added precision option

Please note that I have tried manipulating gsynaptics-device-settings and I have attempted to modify the xorg.conf (and screwed a bunch of stuff up on the way).

Is there any way to gain some of these features back? Or will I have to disobey Synaptics' user agreement and try to reverse engineer the driver they have for Linux (and most likely lose hair and spend a lot of time crying, ultimately leading to failure)?

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In Synaptics' terminology, "generic driver" means "a driver made by Synaptics that has not been customized by an equipment manufacturer."

The xf86-input-synaptics driver is not generic, it's Free Software. It was created by many volunteers and paid employees of open source companies like Red Hat and Canonical. As far as I know, Synaptics never contributed anything to it, code or otherwise. It is actually superior to the proprietary driver in several ways, but you'd have to do some reading and tinker with some settings to gain an understanding of what it can do. That's generally true of most Free Software.

Synaptics, Inc. actually does make a proprietary Linux driver with all the features you mentioned, but it's strictly available to equipment manufacturers for preinstallation on new machines that ship with Linux already installed. You can't find that driver online. Can't even buy it -- license restrictions. That's UN-Free software.

The circular scrolling feature you're talking about is called ChiralMotion(TM). I know, it's awesome, I love it too. Really missing it. Unfortunately, it's patented.

There is a "Circular Scrolling" feature in the open source driver, but it works differently. The circling movement must be centered to the touchpad. Not quite as intuitive, IMHO. Less efficient. It also currently doesn't support horizontal scrolling.

Well, I wanted that feature back too, so I'm working on some improvements:

http://galundin.github.io/circular-scrolling-improved/

No reverse engineering, this is very different from the patented algorithm, even though its behavior is very similar. I'm in the process of hacking this functionality into the open source driver. That's what Free Software is all about. We have the power to make it better.

So regarding 1.) hang in there, I'm working on it.

Based on what you described in 2.) that sounds like you're talking about a Buttonless TouchPad (aka ClickPad). That mode is enabled with the ClickPad option, and SoftButtonAreas to define the boundaries. You can read all about those options and how to configure them here.

Regarding 3.) "added precision," I think you mean Pointing Enhancements > Slow Motion, which reduces sensitivity while a modifier key is held down (shift or control). That exact feature isn't in the xf86 driver, but it does provide dynamic control of pointer sensitivity in response to finger pressure, which is arguably more intuitive. Type man synaptics in a terminal and look for PressureMotion. That option has several settings to let you fine-tune its behavior. You can change those settings on the fly with the synclient command before you put them into the config file.

BTW, GSynaptics is deprecated. Its successor is GPointingDeviceSettings. But there are still many options it doesn't show.

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What I did was reload the repositories in my package manager. That made three new versions of the touchpad driver appear. I then installed one of the new Synaptics driver packages, and then restarted my computer. If you can't find what you need on the Main server, you should try downloading from the United States Server.

Here's what I did:

  1. Open your Synaptics Package Manager and type in your administrative password. If you don't have the Synaptics Package Manager, get it. It's cool!

  2. When the package manager window appears, click "Reload" in the toolbar.

  3. If that doesn't work, you should review your repository information by selecting "Repositories" from the Settings menu, and make adjustments there.

  4. "Mark" the packages you want installed (Synaptic touchpad, etc.) by clicking the checkboxes next to their names and then clicking "mark for installation" from the submenu.

  5. Click "Apply" from the toolbar.

Thomas Mahoney

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  • Welcome to Ask Ubuntu! I recommend editing this answer to expand it with specific details about how to do this. (See also How do I write a good answer? for general advice about what sorts of answers are considered most valuable on Ask Ubuntu.) Feb 7, 2016 at 21:35

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