Accessibility click lock (drag)

I am a double arm amputee since 1979. I work in IT and manage a network. My primary desktop throughout the years has been Windows, if for no other reason, than that Microsoft did a great job with accessibility features. No other desktop OS has matched it yet.

Ubuntu shows promise yet it lacks the critical click-lock feature for mouse settings. Microsoft set the bar, yet no other desktop OS has really given accessibility features the attention it deserves. I swear that many years ago this could be implemented in Ubuntu, and prior to the Windows 7 release, I planned on switching.

But, I was disappointed to learn that Ubuntu seemed to have chosen the Hover Click (dwell) feature over the click lock. At least it seems that way as when Hover Click appeared the click lock disappeared. I'm not arguing that Hover Click may be useful for some, but, speaking from personal experience, the click lock is immensely more useful and therefore much more important for someone in my situation.

This is why Windows is my primary desktop OS to this day. I revisit Ubuntu when new releases come out only to be turned away empty handed so to speak. My philosophy is that if the Ubuntu developers won't give accessibility the attention it deserves, then I won't adopt it as my primary OS. It really is that simple.

I am excited about the potential of Ubuntu, particularly the Docker and Linux Containers features, and would conceivably switch my primary desktop to Ubuntu for this reason, yet I'm left on the outside looking in, so, Windows 10 is it for me. It is hard to turn down an OS that has set the gold standard for accessibility.

Solution 1:

See https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1832185

To Quote:

Install xinput if it's not already, then type "xinput list" to see your devices. Look for the trackpad and make a note of its id# (mine is id=12).

Then do "xinput list-props 12 | grep Lock" (replace '12' with whatever your ID is) and you'll see options for locked drags and a timeout value. Make a note of their ID#s (in parentheses) for easy access. You want to set locked drags to 1, and timeout to whatever is comfortable for you (350ms is good for me).

Type: xinput set-prop 12 259 1 (259 is my ID for Locked Drags) And: xinput set-prop 12 260 350 (260 is my ID for Locked Drags Timeout)