tpkbdctl 0.2.3

What is this?

It’s a tool that can be used to control features of the “Lenovo ThinkPad USB Keyboard with TrackPoint”. The official User Guide can be found here: UserGuide (PDF).

Requirements and Limitations

This tool uses the hidraw driver and needs at least Linux 2.6.39 in order to work. Using hidraw it can only write settings, not read them, so you have to set everything at the same time. It also supports the hid-lenovo-tpkbd driver which was merged in Linux 3.6. This driver allows changing the settings via sysfs files, so they can also be read.

On most systems /dev/hidraw* and /sys files are writeable only by root, so you will probably have to run this as root.

Usage

Usage: tpkbdctl [options]

Options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -l, --list            List all available devices
  -d DEVICE, --device=DEVICE
                        Specify device. Format as printed with --list
  -s SENSITIVITY, --sensitivity=SENSITIVITY
                        Set trackpoint sensitivity. Range 1-255
  -S SPEED, --press-speed=SPEED
                        Set press-speed. Range 1-255
  -p ?, --press-to-select=?
                        Enable press-to-select? (y/n)
  -R ?, --press-right=?
                        Enable press-right? (y/n)
  -D ?, --dragging=?    Enable dragging? (y/n)
  -r ?, --release-to-select=?
                        Enable release-to-select? (y/n)

Building and Installing

Make sure you have pip installed. The package is usually called python-pip. Then run:

sudo pip install tpkbdctl

Permanent Setup

TODO

See also

The kernel patch provides additional functionality. It allows you to control the LEDs in the mute buttons and makes the microphone mute button usable. It was merged in Linux 3.6.

License

This tool is licensed under the GNU GPL v2.