Bug 211136

Summary:	x11-drivers/linuxwacom-0.7.8_p3: Multitouch feature of linuxwacom interferes with stylus/eraser use in tablet mode
Product:	Gentoo Linux	Reporter:	John Troxler <john.troxler>
Component:	New packages	Assignee:	Mike Auty (RETIRED) <ikelos>
Status:	VERIFIED NEEDINFO
Severity:	normal	CC:	andri, blackace, joe.k963, rbu
Priority:	High
Version:	unspecified
Hardware:	x86
OS:	Linux
URL:	http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=147537#c54
Whiteboard:
Package list:		Runtime testing required:	---

Description John Troxler 2008-02-22 21:14:35 UTC

The multitouch feature of the linuxwacom driver is interfering so that when I go to use my x61t with my stylus, both the stylus tip, eraser and my hand on the screen create touch events that make it nearly unusable.

The Vista driver has some way of disabling the touch screen when the stylus is being used so that no touch events are transferred to the system.

A previous user in bug #147537 had made a patch available that selectively removed the multitouch code from the linuxwacom driver based on a USE flag. I'd like to have some way to turn the multitouch off until the driver code gets better at recognizing what's a finger touch and what's not a finger touch.

Here's some basic info on my system:
Lenovo X61T with multitouch/multiview lcd screen
gentoo-2.6.23-r8 with tuxonice-2.6.23-r8 kernel sources

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. emerge linuxwacom-0.7.8_p3 on a tablet pc
2. write on screen with stylus

Actual Results:  
cursor flies all over the screen between the palm of your hand resting on the screen and the stylus tip

Comment 1 Robert Buchholz (RETIRED) gentoo-dev

2008-02-24 12:32:46 UTC

Rather than making it a compile-time feature I'd make it configurable via xorg.conf, as in:
http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.drivers.wacom/1402

John, can you try the patches here -- does applying them help?
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1834901&group_id=69596&atid=525126

Comment 2 John Troxler 2008-02-25 13:50:41 UTC

I created a temporary ebuild with the multitouch patch from sf and emerged it, and now it works fine.  The driver now effectively ignores touch events while using the stylus.

Robert, is there an official ebuild in portage that includes this patch?

Comment 3 Mike Auty (RETIRED) gentoo-dev

2008-08-22 14:45:01 UTC

Now that 0.8.0 is in the main tree, can I ask the status of this bug?  Has upstream resolved the issues you were having?

Comment 4 Matthew Kasa (RETIRED) gentoo-dev

2008-12-07 08:56:08 UTC

I'd say yes, you can probably close this, I tried 0.7.8_p3 and experienced the same issue (pressing the stylus results in a second press close to the first one, leaving you with infinitely repeating clicks, extremely disruptive), but now on 0.8.0_p3-r1 things work as expected.