EVDEV(4)EVDEV(4)NAMEevdev - Generic Linux input driver
SYNOPSIS
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "devname"
Driver "evdev"
Option "Device" "devpath"
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "True"
Option "Emulate3Timeout" "50"
Option "GrabDevice" "False"
...
EndSection
DESCRIPTIONevdev is an Xorg input driver for Linux´s generic event devices. It
therefore supports all input devices that the kernel knows about,
including most mice and keyboards.
The evdev driver can serve as both a pointer and a keyboard input
device, and may be used as both the core keyboard and the core pointer.
Multiple input devices are supported by multiple instances of this
driver, with one Load directive for evdev in the Module section of your
xorg.conf for each input device that will use this driver.
SUPPORTED HARDWARE
In general, any input device that the kernel has a driver for can be
accessed through the evdev driver. See the Linux kernel documentation
for a complete list.
CONFIGURATION DETAILS
Please refer to xorg.conf(5) for general configuration details and for
options that can be used with all input drivers. This section only
covers configuration details specific to this driver.
The following driver Options are supported:
Option "ButtonMapping" "string"
Sets the button mapping for this device. The mapping is a space-
separated list of button mappings that correspond in order to
the physical buttons on the device (i.e. the first number is the
mapping for button 1, etc.). The default mapping is "1 2 3 ...
32". A mapping of 0 deactivates the button. Multiple buttons can
have the same mapping. For example, a left-handed mouse with
deactivated scroll-wheel would use a mapping of "3 2 1 0 0".
Invalid mappings are ignored and the default mapping is used.
Buttons not specified in the user's mapping use the default map‐
ping.
Option "Device" "string"
Specifies the device through which the device can be accessed.
This will generally be of the form "/dev/input/eventX", where X
is some integer. The mapping from device node to hardware is
system-dependent.
Option "DragLockButtons" "L1 B2 L3 B4"
Sets "drag lock buttons" that simulate holding a button down, so
that low dexterity people do not have to hold a button down at
the same time they move a mouse cursor. Button numbers occur in
pairs, with the lock button number occurring first, followed by
the button number that is the target of the lock button. Prop‐
erty: "Evdev Drag Lock Buttons".
Option "DragLockButtons" "M1"
Sets a "master drag lock button" that acts as a "Meta Key" indi‐
cating that the next button pressed is to be "drag locked".
Property: "Evdev Drag Lock Buttons".
Option "Emulate3Buttons" "boolean"
Enable/disable the emulation of the third (middle) mouse
button for mice which only have two physical buttons.
The third button is emulated by pressing both buttons
simultaneously. Default: on, until a middle mouse button
event is registered. Property: "Evdev Middle Button Emu‐
lation".
Option "Emulate3Timeout" "integer"
Sets the timeout (in milliseconds) that the driver waits
before deciding if two buttons where pressed "simultane‐
ously" when 3 button emulation is enabled. Default: 50.
Property: "Evdev Middle Button Timeout". Option "Emu‐
lateWheel" "boolean" Enable/disable "wheel" emulation.
Wheel emulation means emulating button press/release
events when the mouse is moved while a specific real but‐
ton is pressed. Wheel button events (typically buttons 4
and 5) are usually used for scrolling. Wheel emulation
is useful for getting wheel-like behaviour with track‐
balls. It can also be useful for mice with 4 or more
buttons but no wheel. See the description of the Emu‐
lateWheelButton, EmulateWheelInertia, EmulateWheelTime‐
out, XAxisMapping, and YAxisMapping options. Default:
off. Property "Evdev Wheel Emulation".
Option "EmulateWheelButton" "integer"
Specifies which button must be held down to enable wheel
emulation mode. While this button is down, X and/or Y
pointer movement will generate button press/release
events as specified for the XAxisMapping and YAxisMapping
settings. If the button is 0 and EmulateWheel is on, any
motion of the device is converted into wheel events.
Default: 4. Property: "Evdev Wheel Emulation Button".
Option "EmulateWheelInertia" "integer"
Specifies how far (in pixels) the pointer must move to
generate button press/release events in wheel emulation
mode. Default: 10. Property: "Evdev Wheel Emulation
Inertia".
Option "EmulateWheelTimeout" "integer"
Specifies the time in milliseconds the EmulateWheelButton
must be pressed before wheel emulation is started. If the
EmulateWheelButton is released before this timeout, the
original button press/release event is sent. Default:
200. Property: "Evdev Wheel Emulation Timeout".
Option "GrabDevice" "boolean"
Force a grab on the event device. Doing so will ensure
that no other driver can initialise the same device and
it will also stop the device from sending events to
/dev/kbd or /dev/input/mice. Events from this device will
not be sent to virtual devices (e.g. rfkill or the Macin‐
tosh mouse button emulation). Default: disabled.
Option "InvertX" "Bool"
Option "InvertY" "Bool"
Invert the given axis. Default: off. Property: "Evdev
Axis Inversion".
Option "IgnoreRelativeAxes" "Bool"
Option "IgnoreAbsoluteAxes" "Bool"
Ignore the specified type of axis. Default: unset. The X
server cannot deal with devices that have both relative
and absolute axes. Evdev tries to guess wich axes to
ignore given the device type and disables absolute axes
for mice and relative axes for tablets, touchscreens and
touchpad. These options allow to forcibly disable an axis
type. Mouse wheel axes are exempt and will work even if
relative axes are ignored. No property, this configura‐
tion must be set in the configuration.
If either option is set to False, the driver will not
ignore the specified axes regardless of the presence of
other axes. This may trigger buggy behavior and events
from this axis are always forwarded. Users are discour‐
aged from setting this option.
Option "ReopenAttempts" "integer"
Number of reopen attempts after a read error occurs on
the device (e.g. after waking up from suspend). In
between each attempt is a 100ms wait. Default: 10.
Option "Calibration" "min-x max-x min-y max-y"
Calibrates the X and Y axes for devices that need to
scale to a different coordinate system than reported to
the X server. This feature is required for devices that
need to scale to a different coordinate system than orig‐
inally reported by the kernel (e.g. touchscreens). The
scaling to the custom coordinate system is done in-driver
and the X server is unaware of the transformation. Prop‐
erty: "Evdev Axis Calibration".
Option "SwapAxes" "Bool"
Swap x/y axes. Default: off. Property: "Evdev Axes Swap".
Option "XAxisMapping" "N1 N2"
Specifies which buttons are mapped to motion in the X
direction in wheel emulation mode. Button number N1 is
mapped to the negative X axis motion and button number N2
is mapped to the positive X axis motion. Default: no
mapping. Property: "Evdev Wheel Emulation Axes".
Option "YAxisMapping" "N1 N2"
Specifies which buttons are mapped to motion in the Y
direction in wheel emulation mode. Button number N1 is
mapped to the negative Y axis motion and button number N2
is mapped to the positive Y axis motion. Default: "4 5".
Property: "Evdev Wheel Emulation Axes".
SUPPORTED PROPERTIES
The following properties are provided by the evdev driver.
Evdev Axis Calibration
4 32-bit values, order min-x, max-x, min-y, max-y or 0
values to disable in-driver axis calibration.
Evdev Axis Inversion
2 boolean values (8 bit, 0 or 1), order X, Y. 1 inverts
the axis.
Evdev Axes Swap
1 boolean value (8 bit, 0 or 1). 1 swaps x/y axes.
Evdev Drag Lock Buttons
8-bit. Either 1 value or pairs of values. Value range
0-32, 0 disables a value.
Evdev Middle Button Emulation
1 boolean value (8 bit, 0 or 1).
Evdev Middle Button Timeout
1 16-bit positive value.
Evdev Wheel Emulation
1 boolean value (8 bit, 0 or 1).
Evdev Wheel Emulation Axes
4 8-bit values, order X up, X down, Y up, Y down. 0 dis‐
ables a value.
Evdev Wheel Emulation Button
1 8-bit value, allowed range 0-32, 0 disables the button.
Evdev Wheel Emulation Inertia
1 16-bit positive value.
Evdev Wheel Emulation Timeout
1 16-bit positive value.
AUTHORS
Kristian Høgsberg.
SEE ALSOXorg(1), xorg.conf(5), Xserver(1), X(7), README.mouse.
X Version 11 xf86-input-evdev 2.3.2 EVDEV(4)
