Eratic Cursor Behavior

[Harold Hallikainen]

>> > From: "Harold Hallikainen" <harold at hallikainen.com>
>> To: "Getting started with Red Hat Linux"
>> <redhat-install-list at redhat.com>
>> Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2005 13:30:44 -0800 (PST)
>> Subject: Re: Eratic Cursor Behavior
>>
>>
>> >> -----Original Message-----
>> >> From: karlp at ourldsfamily.com [mailto:karlp at ourldsfamily.com]
>> >> Sent: Wednesday, November 9, 2005 09:15 PM
>> >> To: redhat-install-list at redhat.com
>> >> Subject: Eratic Cursor Behavior
>> >>
>> >> FC4
>> >> KDE
>> >>
>> >> Occasionally, and I can't replicate it so know this is a stretch to
>> >> ask..., when I am using my mouse to raise windows (mouseover mode,
>> not
>> >> click), or even when playing a game, any game, the cursor will
>> disappear
>> >> from before my eyes and appear in a corner of the screen. Not having
>> the
>> >> best of eyes, sometimes it takes a moment longer than is comfortable
>> to
>> >> locate the cursor so I can get back to entertaining myself...
>> >>
>> >> What types of things should/could I look for? Could it be a poor, or
>> >> mismatched driver in XF86Config?
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> Karl Pearson
>> >> Senior Consulting Sys/DB Analyst
>> >> http://consulting.ourldsfamily.com
>> >> ---
>> >>
>> >
>> > I've seen this before as well.  I'm not entirely sure what causes it,
>> but
>> > I've seen it both on Linux (several distros) and Windows (several
>> > versions).  The only commonality I can seem to find is that everytime
>> it
>> > happens to me I'm using an optical mouse.  Bad driver?  Spurious
>> signal
>> > from the optical device itself?  I haven't a clue, and I feel your
>> pain.
>> > Working late at night or at the end of a long day is not the time for
>> > mouse pointers to be pulling practical jokes ;)
>> >
>> > -Mike
>>
>>
>> Running FC4-64 on my new HP laptop, the touchpad has a tendency to
>> decide
>> I've clicked something. It mostly tends to run Firefox back several
>> pages.
>> What config file do I modify to disable this "feature?"
>>
>> THANKS!
>>
>> Harold
>
> I have experienced similar problems. The touchpad generates events that I
> did not knowingly cause. I have only seen this happen when running
> Firefox, and Firefox turns it into a request to go back a page. This
> problem is not specific to any location on the touchpad, and it doesn't
> just happen when the finger is lifted or applied (which is when mistaken
> clicks often happen). What I don't understand is how Firefox interprets
> this as a request to go back a page, when a regular single- or
> double-click would not result in that behavior. The context menu contains
> a command to go back a page, but I don't know how the left-click-based
> touchpad would trigger that command.
>
> I am using FC4 on a Dell Inspiron 5000e laptop. It has a Synaptics
> touchpad which seems to work just fine for everything else. I would guess
> this is a problem with Firefox, but since the laptop is not my main
> machine (I set it up for my parents.), I did not pursue it (e.g. bug
> report, forum/list submission). My solution was to use a USB mouse, which
> my parents preferred anyway. I hope this thread exhibits the critical mass
> needed to get this problem investigated.
>
> Perhaps restricting the touchpad to cursor movement only (no clicking
> ability) would prevent this problem.
>
> Aubrey Barnard


That is EXACTLY what I'm seeing on my new HP laptop. It SEEMS there should
be a config file somewhere for the touchpad where I can disable "click on
touch" and only click when a real button is pressed. Any ideas?

Harold

-- 
FCC Rules Updated Daily at http://www.hallikainen.com