btnx-config

suse 10.3 can't use evdev so that defeats btnx

Asked by darp

I was very happy to see that there was a suse 10.3 rpm for btnx. I thought that it would look after all the dependencies and things would go swimmingly. I was particularly encouraged when the primary example of configuring a mouse was the MX Revolution, which is the very mouse I would like to get up and running.

However, I was surprised that btnx does nothing on my computer. After digging around, I believe this is because I would need the evdev driver to get the mouse to work. But it seems that evdev does not get along with suse 10.3. It crashes the x server. It is not available on any of the standard repositories. So it looks like suse 10.3 broke btnx, at least as far as evdev devices are concerned.

So the questions are, have I come to the right conclusion? And is there an alternative to the evdev driver that will allow me to configure the mouse?

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btnx-config Edit question
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Olli Salonen
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Best Olli Salonen (daou) said : 		#1

btnx does not use evdev. In fact, evdev causes problems for btnx. All btnx needs is the uinput module on the kernel side. Is btnx itself not working, or is nothing happening during button detection?

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Olli Salonen (daou) said : 		#2

Fixed answered status to "Needs info"

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darp (darp) said : 		#3

So your are saying btnx replaces the need for the evdev driver? That is good news.

I believe I have the the uinput module. Is it here?

/dev/.udev/db/\x2fdevices\x2fvirtual\x2fmisc\x2fuinput
/dev/.udev/names/input\x2fuinput
/dev/.udev/names/input\x2fuinput/\x2fdevices\x2fvirtual\x2fmisc\x2fuinput
/dev/input/uinput
/lib/modules/2.6.22.17-0.1-default/kernel/drivers/input/misc/uinput.ko
/usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.8/x86_64-linux-thread-multi/linux/uinput.ph

What happens is btnx-config runs fine. It detects all the buttons. Then in "Button" I add values to the search button and side buttons. ( I haven't got around to the thumb button yet.) Perhaps I don't understand the values enough. I gave the search button a value of KEY_FIND and the side buttons BTN_FORWARD and BTN_BACK. I also tried ridiculous values to see if I could get some obvious results - but it is as if btnx has no affect on the mouse.

Thanks for the help.

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Olli Salonen (daou) said : 		#4

Looks like uinput is ok. On most distros, you can type "modprobe uinput" as root to make sure you have uinput and that it is loaded. btnx automatically does this during startup.

Make sure the "Enabled" checkbox for each button you want btnx to use is checked in btnx-config. Otherwise, the buttons do nothing. Then, try setting a button to "KEY_A" for example. Then focus on a text editor or console and click the button and see if it outputs an 'a'.

You can also start btnx on the command line as root by just typing "btnx". Look at the output and make sure no errors occur during startup.

Another thing you can try is compiling and installing a newer version of btnx. Some important things changed in v.0.4.7 that has fixed problems for some users.

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darp (darp) said : 		#5

I tried installing v.0.4.7 and got an error. It could not locate gtk2, although I know it is somewhere. I don't know enough about compiling from source to change variables etc.

I reinstalled the Suse 10.3 binary and still no luck. I tried KEY_A in a text file- made sure it was enabled - nothing. When I run btnx in a konsole I get:

# btnx
 btnx: uinput modprobed successfully.
 btnx: Opening config file: /etc/btnx/btnx_config_MX Revolution
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event0
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event1
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event2
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event3
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event4
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event5
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event0
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event1
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event2
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event3
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event4
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event5
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/event6
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/uinput
 btnx: Opened handler: /dev/input/uinput
 btnx: revoco not started. Disabled in configuration.
 btnx: No startup errors

Not sure if the events should repeat numerically, but it looks like I should get something going on.

Sure would love to get this thing to work. Thanks for your help and efforts.

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Olli Salonen (daou) said : 		#6

A user just sent me OpenSUSE packages for btnx 0.4.7. I will upload them to the server later today. I will let you know when I have done this so you can try them.

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Olli Salonen (daou) said : 		#7

The openSUSE 0.4.7 packages (32 and 64 bit) are on the btnx homepage now.

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darp (darp) said : 		#8

The new package works great! Thank you so much.

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darp (darp) said : 		#9

Thanks Olli Salonen, that solved my question.