General purpose mouse
GPM, short for General Purpose Mouse, is a daemon that provides mouse support for Linux virtual consoles.
Installation
Install the gpm package. For touchpad support on a laptop you may also need to install xf86-input-synaptics.
Configuration
The -m
parameter precedes the declaration of the mouse to be used. The -t
parameter precedes the type of mouse. To get a list of available types for the -t
option, run gpm
with -t help
.
# gpm -m /dev/input/mice -t help
The gpm package needs to be started with a few parameters. These parameters can be added in the file /etc/conf.d/gpm
, or used when running gpm directly. As of 2016, the gpm.service
file for systemd includes the parameters for a USB mice. Obviously, it should be edited if there is another mice type, and the file is used.
- For PS/2 mice, replace the existing line with:
GPM_ARGS="-m /dev/psaux -t ps2"
- Whereas USB mice should use:
GPM_ARGS="-m /dev/input/mice -t imps2"
- And IBM Trackpoints need:
GPM_ARGS="-m /dev/input/mice -t ps2"
-2
to GPM_ARGS
and second button will perform the paste function.Once a suitable configuration has been found, start and enable the gpm.service
.
For more information see gpm(8).