Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

[tempestuous]

Touchscreen configuration was tested successfully in an earlier forum thread -
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=16518
But the correct information was spread awkwardly throughout that thread, so I have consolidated all setup information and dotpets here.

You may see touchscreen HOWTO's on the web which refer to the gpm (general purpose mouse) daemon, but I think this is largely deprecated in modern kernels.

In general, touchscreens are supported in modern Linux distributions by a kernel module plus a corresponding Xorg input plugin. The exact kernel module/Xorg plugin is determined by the manufacturer of the particular touchscreen sensor device.
The module/Xorg plugin combinations I understand to be correct for serial touchscreen devices are:
fujitsu_ts / fujitsu
elo / elographics ... or
elo / elo2300
mtouch / microtouch
penmount / penmount

I don't know what is correct for the these serial modules:
gunze
touchright
touchwin

USB touchscreen devices by several different manufacturers are all supported by a common kernel module; usbtouchscreen.
For eGalax Touchkit devices the combination should be:
usbtouchscreen / evtouch

For Gunze AHL61 devices the combination should be:
usbtouchscreen / evdev

For DMC devices the combination should be:
usbtouchscreen / dmc

I don't know what is correct for these USB devices:
eTurboTouch, PanJit TouchSet, 3M MicroTouch USB, IRTOUCHSYSTEMS/UNITOP, IdealTEK, GoTop.

The mk712 kernel module supports the ICS MicroClock device (found in the Hitachi Visionplate).
I think this device is on the ISA bus, and it may be necessary to specify the irq and io values when loading the mk712 module. The combination of kernel module/Xorg plugin should be:
mk712 / evtouch

All of the touchscreen kernel modules mentioned are contained in Puppy4.1/4.2, but need to be installed separately for earlier Puppies.

[tempestuous]

Here are the Xorg7.3 touchscreen input plugins, compatible with Puppy 4.1.x and 4.2.x
EDIT March 2010: also for Puppy 4.3.x

These Puppy versions already contain the necessary kernel modules.

[tempestuous]

Here are the touchscreen modules/Xorg plugins for:
- Puppy 4.0 with kernel 2.6.21.7 and Xorg7.3
- Puppy 3.x with kernel 2.6.21.7 and Xorg7.2

[tempestuous]

Here are the touchscreen modules/Xorg plugins for:
- Puppy 2.17 with kernel 2.6.21.5 and Xorg7.0
- Puppy 2.12-2.16 with kernel 2.6.18.1 and Xorg7.0

[tempestuous]

HOWTO - USB touchscreens

In this example we will refer to the "eGalax Touchkit" touchscreen, for which the correct kernel module is "usbtouchscreen" (as with all USB touchscreen devices) and the Xorg plugin is "evtouch".
Obviously for a different model of USB touchscreen, substitute all references to "evtouch" for the appropriate plugin.

1. Install the appropriate Xorg plugin package, plus kernel modules package if necessary, for your Puppy version.

2a. Load the usbtouchscreen module and evdev module -

[tempestuous]

HOWTO - serial touchscreens
The setup of serial touchscreens is similar to that of USB touchscreens, except that the touchscreen events (as defined in xorg.conf as "Option "Device") will be coming from /dev/ttyS0 instead of /dev/input/event3.
In this example we will refer to a Fujitsu P series tablet computers, for which the correct kernel module is "fujitsu-ts" and the correct Xorg plugin is "fujitsu".
We will assume that the touchscreen appears at the first serial port, which is /dev/ttyS0. It may take some diagnosis to determine if this is not the case.

1. Install the appropriate Xorg plugin package, plus kernel modules package if necessary, for your Puppy version.

2a. Load the fujitsu_ts module and evdev module -

[tempestuous]

PS2 touchscreens
Fujitsu B series tablet computers apparently have a touchscreen which appears as a PS2 interface.
I believe that Puppy's PS2 mouse driver (which is statically compiled into the kernel) does not support touchscreens via the PS2 interface, so unless a different kernel image is compiled then these touchscreens will not work in Puppy.
The relevant kernel configuration is found at:
Device Drivers > Input device support > Mice > eGalax TouchKit PS/2 protocol extension
In Puppy, this option is not enabled.

And the gpm (general purpose mouse) daemon may also be required (??).

[jakfish]

Great work, as always, tempestuous (I just took the plunge with your bluetooth pets/instructions and got my eee 900 connected to GPRS).

Given that there are a certain number of eee users who have installed touchscreens from Hong Kong, I'd be very much interested to see if any of them are running puppy, tried these screen pets, and post here.

Again, congratulations,
Jake

[Lobster]

Wot no video?
Thanks tempestuous for providing this future proofing info
Anyone able to provide video of Puppy running on a touchscreen? When touch screens start coming in cheaply from China, new users will be upgrading to this technology . . .

[maddmike]

I have a Panasonic Toughbook T5. It has a USB-connected Fujitsu touchscreen.

I installed the touchscreen .pet.

modprobe usbtouchscreen and evdev work OK. I can see both modules in lsmod. But there is no entry for the touchscreen in /proc/bus/input/devices.

[tempestuous]

[riel]

Hello!

I have a cashier-system running puppy. It has an integrated mtouch touchpanel.

I can't see a /dev/ttys0 ! BUT when I tough screen, pointer goes crazy. Even when I hold finger at one place, it flips all over, pointing and clicking everywhere.

I can't seem to find a solution on how to get the panel working... I did the serial-installs.

[destr0y]

anyone got a Compaq TC1000 tablet running Puppy? I've just installed it, am currently reading into the pen (fpi2002 driver) requirements. Bit of info out there, but none that is puppy-specific.

On a related note - is it possible to create a remaster that has this functionality working out-of-the-box? ie, a TC1000 remaster..? or are those x config changes something that have to be done after the install? Would make a killer project - a lot of these old tablets laying around out there, just begging to be Pup'd.

[maddmike]

[tempestuous]