Touchegg Adds More Multitouch Gestures To Linux

Linux: We’ve shown you how to enable a few multitouch gestures in Linux, but if you’d like to enable even more, free download Touchegg will give you MacBook-calibre gestures on your Linux-based laptop.

Touchegg is in pretty early stages right now, so there isn’t a GUI or anything to play with, but Linux users shouldn’t have too much trouble editing the configuration file. After installing, you’ll need to make sure your mouse is using the correct driver, evdev, and then edit Touchegg’s configuration file in /usr/share/touchegg/touchegg.conf.

You have a number of different gestures available to you: up to five finger taps, up to four finger swipes, and even up to three fingers pinch (depending, of course, on what your trackpad’s hardware supports). The config file lists each of these gesutres in the following format:

[THREE_FINGERS_TAP]
action=MIDDLE_BUTTON_CLICK
settings=

A few of the gestures are already set, but you can set them to whatever you want by editing the action= line of the config file. The config file lists all the available actions you can assign, like MINIMIZE_WINDOW or MOUSE_WHEEL_UP. Some actions, like CHANGE_DESKTOP, also require you to enter something on the settings= line, and the config file will notify you of the available settings. For example, the following entry will cycle left through your desktops when you drag three fingers to the left:

[THREE_FINGERS_DRAG_LEFT]
action=CHANGE_DESKTOP
settings=DIRECTION=LEFT

It’s actually a very simple process; the config file gives you all the information you need. Hit the link to check it out. Touchegg is a free download for Linux systems. Photo by D’Arcy Norman.

Touchegg [via How-To Geek]