I've recently transitioned to using Linux full-time after dabbling with virtual machines for work, and overall, I've been enjoying the experience—dual booting with Windows but mainly sticking to Linux. However, there's one frustrating issue that's really affecting my workflow: palm rejection on my touchpad.
I'm a fast typist and spend most of my time in Vim and browsing with Vimium, which means my hands are often crammed over the keyboard. Unfortunately, my left thumb knuckle tends to graze the edge of the trackpad, leading to accidental taps that throw my cursor right in the middle of my text input. This has become a major annoyance, similar to the feeling of getting yanked out of a good song when your earbuds snag on something. I'm on Ubuntu right now, and while I know there are various distributions out there, this seems more like a universal issue.
Does anyone have tips on how to fix this palm rejection problem or suggestions for better settings?
6 Answers
You might want to check if your desktop environment (DE) has a setting to disable the touchpad while typing. In KDE, it's easy, but for Ubuntu's GNOME, it's a bit trickier. Still, there should be an option somewhere in the settings that could help reduce those accidental taps.
You might want to look into your specific touchpad model and see if there are community drivers available that could enhance its performance. Ubuntu generally has great hardware support, but sometimes specific hardware can benefit from updated or alternative drivers. Good luck!
I really get your frustration with this. Sometimes these issues can be less about Linux itself and more about your choice of desktop environment or your specific hardware config. If you’re heavily reliant on keyboard shortcuts, you might find other distros like Arch or Fedora more to your liking since they often allow deeper configurations than Ubuntu.
In KDE, you can create a keybind to toggle your touchpad on and off. For instance, I set mine to the Meta + Shift + M combination. This way, I can quickly disable it when I’m typing.
If you're able to, try plugging in a mouse and disabling the trackpad. I get that it might not be the most convenient solution if you're moving around a lot, but it could help in the short term if the trackpad is causing too many problems.
Consider installing the Synaptics driver for your touchpad if it's supported. It gives you tons of options for palm rejection and sensitivity tweaks, plus you can disable the touchpad while typing. The Arch wiki has a great guide on how to set up and customize it for your needs.
I need the trackpad functional since there are times I can't use a mouse. It just isn't practical for me.