How can I set a keyboard shortcut to toggle on/off e.g. the trackpad?
You can place a small script that checks the current state under a shortcut key, and make it subsequently switch to the other state.
This works in a lot of situations, eg toggling the trackpad, toggling visibility of (many) indicator icons etc. (see EDIT, down in the post)
The script below does that:
#!/usr/bin/env python3
import subprocess
key = "org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled"
cmd1 = "/bin/bash", "-c", "gsettings get "+key
new_state = "false" if subprocess.check_output(cmd1).decode("utf-8").strip() == "true" else "true"
cmd2 = "gsettings set "+key+" "+new_state
subprocess.Popen(["/bin/bash", "-c", cmd2])
How to use
- Copy the script into an empty file, save it as
toggle_touchpad.py
-
Test-run it by running (in a terminal) the command:
python3 /path/to/toggle_touchpad.py
-
If all works fine, add it to a shortcut key combination: choose: System Settings > "Keyboard" > "Shortcuts" > "Custom Shortcuts". Click the "+" and add the command:
python3 /path/to/toggle_touchpad.py
Now the shortcut key should toggle the touchpad on/off
Explanation
The touchpad is enabled / disabled by the key:
org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled
To get the current state:
gsettings get org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled
To set to enabled
gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled true
To set to disabled
:
gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled false
Notes
1. Using absolute paths in Custom keyboard shortcuts
Like in .desktop
files, relative paths like ~
cannot be used in custom keyboard shortcuts. Also, just like in terminal commands, spaces need to be escaped:
Instead of:
python3 ~/Keyboard\ shortcuts/toggle_touchpad.py
use:
python3 /home/yourname/"Keyboard shortcuts"/toggle_touchpad.py
2. Using the command(s) in 15.04
Due to a bug (it seems) the command:
gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled true
works fine, however the command:
gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled false
needs to run twice (!!) to disable the touchpad...
3. Bash version of the script
For those who prefer a bash
version for some reason:
#!/bin/bash
key="org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled"
current=$(gsettings get $key)
if [ "$current" == "true" ]; then
gsettings set $key false
else
gsettings set $key true
fi
Save it as toggle_touchpad.sh
, run it with the command
/bin/bash /path/to/toggle_touchpad.sh
EDIT
The script(s) above can be used to toggle any setting, done by a gsettings
command, of the type boolean
(false/true). Simply change the line:
key = "org.gnome.settings-daemon.peripherals.touchpad touchpad-enabled"
By the corresponding key.
An example:
If I change the line to:
key = "com.canonical.indicator.sound visible"
It toggles visibility of the sound indicator icon.