How To Configure Synaptics Touchpad

Here are some useful tips about how to configure your Synaptics Touchpad. Remember to backup xorg.conf first!

1. Enable/disable
   
   • Edit xorg.conf (/etc/X11/xorg.conf in Debian/Ubuntu)
   • Find Identifier "Synaptics Touchpad" and add the following option:
     Option "SHMConfig" "true"
   • Restart the X server
     
   • In your terminal type synclient TouchpadOff=1 to disable touchpad or synclient TouchpadOff=0 to enable it
     
     
2. Disable touchpad while typing
   If you've ever tried to type something with the enabled tuchpad, you should probably know how annoying it is when you accidently make a touch. This tip disables the touchpad for some seconds when you press a key. It needs the configuration described above to be done in order to work. To disable touchpad for one second, go to your terminal and type syndaemon -i 1 -d
   
   
3. Configure the device using Gsynaptics/ksynaptics
   Gsynaptics (ksynaptics if you use KDE) is a graphical touchpad configuration utility. It allows for example to enable/disable tapping and to tune scroll movements. Here is a screenshot: