First off, I have to admit that I lifted the xorg configuration information that I’m about to discuss from some website, but I don’t recall which one. If it was yours please tell me and I’ll link it. In this article I will discuss how to get the scroll button working in SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop/Server.
Lenovo/IBM ThinkPads have 3 mouse buttons. You can configure the middle button so that when you hold it down and move the trackpoint (aka: the nub) the screen scrolls up and down.
The place where this is configured is in the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file. This file is used to configure your X server in Linux. It ties together your pointing device, keyboard, monitor and graphics card.
Open up this file with your favorite text editor and find the section in the file that describes you trackpoint. Configure it so it looks something like this:
Section "InputDevice"
Driver "mouse"
Identifier "Mouse[1]"
Option "Buttons" "5"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
Option "Name" "TPPS/2 IBM TrackPoint"
Option "Protocol" "explorerps/2"
#add the following lines
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "on"
Option "Emulate3TimeOut" "50"
Option "EmulateWheel" "on"
Option "EmulateWheelTimeOut" "200"
Option "EmulateWheelButton" "2"
#end
Option "Vendor" "Sysp"
Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
EndSection
You can now restart X and utilize the new scrolling feature. I’ve also found it helpful to disable the middle button features in Firefox so that when scrolling through a page you don’t accidentally click the middle button. To do this enter about:config into your URL bar. Filter for “middle”. I have disabled:
- browser.tabs.opentabfor.middleclick
- middlemouse.contentLoadURL
- middlemouse.openNewWindow
Having the scroll button enabled will significantly enhance your Linux life and make your a Linux supervillain. Enjoy!
Go Boston College EAGLES!!!
UPDATE:
I have recently discovered that you can also use sax2 to setup the scrolling capability.Β Fire up /usr/sbin/sax2.Β Click on the mouse section.
Make sure the following are checked:
- Activate 3 button emulation
- Activate mouse wheel
- Emulate wheel with mouse button 2
Click “OK” and save it.
Linux In Novell's East Region 
November 8, 2007 at 3:50 am
There is a much more intuitive scrolling implementation that I’ve been using on a T42 for years. Istall the package xserver-xorg-input-synaptics and add the following to your xorg.conf:
Section “InputDevice”
Identifier “Synaptics Touchpad”
Driver “synaptics”
Option “SendCoreEvents” “true”
Option “Device” “/dev/psaux”
Option “Protocol” “auto-dev”
Option “HorizScrollDelta” “0”
EndSection
and then add
InputDevice “Synaptics Touchpad”
to the ServerLayout section. Restart X and you will have a ‘scroll wheel’ directly on your touch pad – i.e. slide your finger up or down the right hand edge of the touchpad and windows will scroll – very intuitive and only one finger π
~GreyCells
November 8, 2007 at 8:35 am
Thanks Grey! I believe this automatically gets enabled in SLED 10 SP1… if only my x60 had a touchpad π
November 8, 2007 at 10:21 am
You might want to look at http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/How_to_configure_the_TrackPoint.
…& personally I find using the trackpoint much easier than using the trackpad
– I don’t have to move my fingers far from their touch-typing position just to move the mouse
– I don’t have to move my fingers at all to scroll vertically and horizontally (beats stroking the sides of a touchpad any day)
November 8, 2007 at 10:44 am
[…] 4 5″ EndSection You can now restart X and utilize the new scrolling feature source __________________ Fore Sale: Endo’s stuff Join the Linux/ Open Source Club The Ubuntu Resources […]
June 21, 2016 at 10:44 pm
[…] Getting the ThinkPad scroll button to work in Linux … β Nov 05, 2007 · Getting the ThinkPad scroll button to … 3 mouse buttons. You can configure the middle button … the ThinkPad scroll button to work in Linux … […]