[PLUG] Quirky Mouse

Derek Loree derek at infotects.com
Thu Sep 5 01:04:40 UTC 2002


On Wed, 2002-09-04 at 17:34, Richard Steffens wrote:
> Derek Loree wrote:
> 
> > Dick Steffens wrote:
> > > man gpm reports: No manual entry for gpm. Could it
> > > be that there is a misprint on that whole page and that I should be
> > > looking at gdm?
> > 
> > Since man gpm didn't return anything, you don't have gpm installed.
> 
> So, it wasn't a misprint.
> 
> > I, personally, like to use gpm because it adds an interpretive layer
> > between the mouse device (/dev/psaux or whatever) and the X-server, as
> > well as making it possible to copy and paste between consoles.
> 
> I like this concept. I seem to recall, now that you mention it, having
> read something about being able to unplug keyboards if gpm is in use.
> While not something I'd need to do every day, it could come in handy
> from time to time, like the other day when I managed to disconnect my
> keyboard while shifting some things around on the desk.

Unplugging a keyboard is usually no big deal, but gpm is only for the
mouse, it does nothing with the keyboard.  With gpm, you should be able
to stop the server (/etc/init.d/gpm stop), unplug your mouse, plug in a
new one and run gpmconfig to get it working; all without rebooting.
> 
> So, if I run apt-get install gpm, that should set it up, and give me a
> man page, but I'd have to reboot in order for it to run, right?

No reboot required, it will be running when the installation is
finished. However, you will need to restart your X-server after you have
modified the configuration file.  The config file has the command to
re-run the debconf script, if you are using debconf to handle your
X-server configuration.  <crtl>+<alt>+<Backspace> will restart it, or
kill it, depending on your system configuration.

Derek






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