6.2.4. How to use a Mouse instead of the Touchscreen with Matrix¶

Introduction

A mouse can be used instead of touchscreen input with the Matrix GUI by following these steps. It is also possible to use touchscreen and mouse input simultaneously.

Restrictions: For AM37x and AM35x: The mouse must be connected through a USB 2.0 hub to the EVM. It must not be connected directly to the EVM.

Enable Mouse

On your Target File system, edit the file: /etc/init.d/matrix-gui-2.0 This script file will set Mouse support by default, but if it detects a touchscreen, then it will setup touchscreen support. If you comment out the touchscreen support then the default will remain mouse support. Use the ‘#’ to comment out the line below:

For Mouse support, Replace:

if [ -e /dev/input/touchscreen0 ]
then
    export QWS_MOUSE_PROTO=Tslib:/dev/input/touchscreen0
fi

with

#   if [ -e /dev/input/touchscreen0 ]
#   then
#       export QWS_MOUSE_PROTO=Tslib:/dev/input/touchscreen0
#   fi

To Enable both Mouse and touchscreen simultaneously: Replace

export  QWS_MOUSE_PROTO=Tslib:/dev/input/touchscreen0

with

export  QWS_MOUSE_PROTO="Tslib:/dev/input/touchscreen0 Auto"

Warning: If you enable both, the touchscreen now requires a double touch instead of a single touch.

Kernel

The Kernel has been configured to enable mouse support in your SDK, so this step is not necessary if you are using the SDK.

If you have built your own kernel: The kernel must be configured to include the PS/2 mouse support. To verify this, run the menuconfig utility.

Instructions on executing menuconfig can be found here: Customizing the Kernel Configuration

Look under:

Device Drivers —> Input device support —> <*> Mouse interface

Device Drivers —> Input device support —> <*> Mice —>

If mouse support is not already included in the kernel, enable the above two configuration by typing ‘y’ and rebuild the kernel. You can find instructions for rebuilding kernel here:

Linux Kernel User’s Guide