implement support for IBM/Lenovo TrackPoint scroll button

[luroh]

On all Thinkpads known to mankind, there is a scroll button situated between the right and left mouse buttons. When pressed, the scroll button typically lets the user scroll vertically and/or horizontally by pushing the TrackPoint up/down or left/right.

Attaching a picture of a Thinkpad keyboard with the scroll button and TrackPoint highlighted. Also attaching a picture of what the configuration interface for the TrackPoint device looks like in Gnome.

[siarzhuk]

Any additional info besides of #5604 sympthoms?

Is this the same device as T23 has?

[siarzhuk]

Can you activate the extra tracing in ps2 bus manager and acquire detailed system log?

Just uncomment the PS2_TRACE define at line:

​http://dev.haiku-os.org/browser/haiku/trunk/src/add-ons/kernel/bus_managers/ps2/ps2_common.h#L32

And do not forget enable the trackpoint in the BIOS. ;)

[luroh]

Any additional info besides of #5604 sympthoms?

I actually do not suffer from the symptoms in #5604.

Is this the same device as T23 has?

I'm not sure, but my bet would be yes. For all I know, IBM has been using this device in their Thinkpads since the dawn of time.

uncomment the PS2_TRACE define

Done. In the attached syslog, there should be traces of me first clicking the left TrackPoint button, then the right one, then moving the pointer somewhat, then finally pressing the [non-working] scroll button in the middle.

And do not forget enable the trackpoint in the BIOS.

Ah, the TrackPoint is actually the only pointing device I use on my T60. It's the touch pad I keep disabled. Sorry for getting everything mixed up yesterday on IRC. I was so tired I couldn't tell dicks from carrots. Swedish expression, pardon the language. :)

[deejam]

Replying to luroh:

Is this the same device as T23 has?

I'm not sure, but my bet would be yes. For all I know, IBM has been using this device in their Thinkpads since the dawn of time.

That is correct. T23 has (like all Thinkpads has had for ages) the TrackPoint (some models, especially the X line, do not have the TrackPad).

A click on the second (middle) button is a "middle click", clicking and holding the second button while moving the trackpoint should be treated as a scrolling wheel.

I love this feature. The only reason why I do not own a Macbook is it's lack of TrackPoint. TrackPads (Touchpads) are useless.

[siarzhuk]

Replying to luroh:

And do not forget enable the trackpoint in the BIOS.

Ah, the TrackPoint is actually the only pointing device I use on my T60. It's the touch pad I keep disabled. Sorry for getting everything mixed up yesterday on IRC. I was so tired I couldn't tell dicks from carrots. Swedish expression, pardon the language. :)

Was this log acquired with touchpad switched off? At the moment I just wonder how both trackpoint and touchpad are handled on KBC. This syslog say that multiplexing is not supported, so only the keyboard and single AUX device can be supported. Could you, please activate both pointing devices and acquire the log with extra tracing again? Thanks!

[axeld]

Personally, I like this button being the middle mouse button (as it works right now), but then, I use two finger scrolling only, and don't use the track point. All in all, though, I think this would be a good third party opportunity.

How do you emulate the third button then, anyway?

[luroh]

Replying to siarzhuk:

Was this log acquired with touchpad switched off?

Yes.

Could you, please activate both pointing devices and acquire the log with extra tracing again?

Certainly, new syslog attached.

[siarzhuk]

For years I was default assignee for this PS2 stuff. Neither fixes nor improvements - I should be fired away. ;-)

[luroh]

I have observed some movements in Gerrit recently that look like they might be related to this ticket (changes 178-181 so far). If so, I have a bunch of ThinkPads to test with if that would help. I would need some instructions however.

[pulkomandy]

From the hardware and PS2 driver point of view this button is just a middle mouse button. There is nothing special about it. The scrolling is a completely software feature of Windows, and works on any mouse with a middle button (or clickable wheel).

So, I'm moving this ticket to input_server.

Also, related discussion on the forum and IRC: ​https://discuss.haiku-os.org/t/scroll-button-on-ibm-thinkpad-x31/13596/2 points to these existing input_server add-ons that provide this functionality:

• ​https://github.com/amol-/haiku_rclick_filter
• ​https://github.com/nexus6-haiku/ScrollInputFilter

Maybe one of them can be packaged in haikudepot? Or even integrated into Haiku like we did for PadBlocker?

[Nexus-6]

Now that I’ve got a Thinkpad, started playing around with my ScrollInputFilter and managed to make the middle button work in conjunction with both trackpoint and trackpad. I’m still working on it and I’ve implemented X and Y axis and natural scrolling. It looks promising and I might be able to release something useful and configurable in the future. Maybe after some tests we could also consider to include it in the Haiku source tree if it makes sense.