Bug#528709: Problem Solved
Mattia Dongili wrote:
I had the same setup in xorg.conf for several years, but apparently
the latest version of the synaptics driver prefers to be configured
via HAL. This is not well-documented in the README or NEWS files.
There is a brief mention of auto-configuration and HAL in
README.Debian but then it goes on to describe manual configuration
using xorg.conf, which is seemingly not the proper method now.
well, I wouldn't say "proper".
Anyway, can you suggest a change to the README or NEWS file that would
help clearing this out?
This is really only a problem for people upgrading from a previous
version who had custom settings in xorg.conf and who also use
synclient/syndaemon. At least I didn't notice any problem until I
realized that syndaemon wasn't working any more.
In terms of that I think it needs to be made clear that if HAL is in use
then settings changes should now be made via an fdi file, whereas if HAL
is not in use then changes should be made to xorg.conf as in previous
versions of the driver. At least that's how I'm understanding it.
After the discussion of enabling tapping, NEWS says:
Note that the configuration will not be permanently modified, to do
so assign the above option values in your xorg.conf or custom fdi file
Maybe it would be better to say something like:
Note that the configuration will not be permanently modified. To do so
assign the above option values in a custom fdi file (if HAL is in use) or
in xorg.conf (if HAL is not in use).
Similarly, in the README, it mentions both methods but doesn't say
anything about under what circumstances one or the other is preferred.
Perhaps you could add something like this to the section on
auto-configuration:
If your system is using HAL then a custom fdi file is the preferred way
to configure the driver. If you have existing settings in xorg.conf from
a previous version of the driver and your system is using HAL then those
settings should be migrated to a custom fdi file. See the comments in
the default file for details of the syntax.
Perhaps the post-install script could even notify the user that he
should read the NEWS file for information on the new configuration method.
--
-| Bob Hauck (Brother Nail Gun of The Short Path)
-| http://www.haucks.org/
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