Thinkpads Forum

Has anyone been able to make both scrolling and middle-click work with just the Synaptics driver, without resorting to TPMiddle or any other third-party software? If yes, please post your driver version and any changes from the default settings you made.

To clarify, what I have in mind is the driver-controlled scrolling, where a rectangular bar shows up next to the mouse cursor, not the "smooth scrolling" enabled with a middle-click, where a separate circle appears on the screen, only available in some applications.

1. With no Synaptics driver installed (that is, the generic msmouse.inf driver), middle-click works but there is no scrolling (predictably, since it's a driver feature).
2. Once the Synaptics driver is installed, no middle-click events are sent any longer.
3. Middle-click works again while TPMiddle is running.

The question is: can step (3) be replaced with the right combination of settings for the driver itself?

I checked that the middle-click does not work out of the box with any of the following driver versions: 16.1.1.0 (6HGX58WW), 16.2.19.14 (6HGX81WW), 16.2.19.24 (6HGX82WW), 16.2.21 & 16.3.15.1 (both non-ThinkPad), 18.1.27.42 (N10GW27W), 19.0.19.1 (also non-TP), 19.5.19.42 (N2IST04W), and the latest 19.0.17.141 (GGGR06WW).

I tried playing with some driver settings:

• These flags are already set to 0x1214, changing them makes scrolling not work:

  Code: Select all

  [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Synaptics\SynTPEnh\UltraNavPS2]
  ; 0x1214: Middle button works for scrolling (can do both with TP Middle)
  ; 0x2214: Middle button works as middle click (disable scrolling),
  ; equivalent to enabling "Smooth Scrolling" via the UI
  ; 0x4214: Middle button works as magnifying glass (?)
  "TrackPointMode"=dword:00001214

• This also has no effect but I believe changing the value here somehow could be part of the solution, maybe in conjuction with MiddleButtonPlugIn and MiddleButtonPlugInActionID:

  Code: Select all

  [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Synaptics\SynTP\StickPS2TM1611]
  ; Or, depending on the driver version:
  ;[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Synaptics\SynTP\StickPS2]
  ; 0x0: Default
  ; 0x4: Mentioned in some discussion but doesn't seem to change anything
  "MiddleButtonAction"=dword:00000004

• Code: Select all

  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Synaptics\SynTPCpl]
  ; Should show complete scrolling options but does not seem 
  ; to take effect in newer driver versions
  "HideTrackPointScrollingMagnifying"=dword:00000000

• Code: Select all

  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Synaptics\SynTPEnh]
  ; 0x5: Newest drivers
  ; 0x1: Older drivers
  ; Unset in really old drivers
  "ScrollMethod"=dword:00000001

Some other observations:

• Older driver versions do not support scrolling in Modern UI applications, and since these include the Windows 10 Start Menu, it would make the whole endeavor of using them moot even if middle-click worked. However, I was hoping to find the settings in control of the middle click and apply them to a newer version.
• TPMiddle 0.7 does not seem to work for me (only 0.6)
• I also haven't found a way of hiding the scroll cursor through the registry settings. Neither of the following settings does the trick:

  Code: Select all

  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Synaptics\SynTPEnh]
  ; Should disable the scroll cursor (but does not seem to work)
  "UseScrollCursor"=dword:00000000

  Code: Select all

  [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Synaptics\SynTPEnh\UltraNavPS2]
  ; 10: Supposed to stop the scrolling cursor from appearing momentarily
  ; 11: Default
  "TrackPointModeFunction"=dword:00000010

Earlier discussion, somewhat related:

• TrackPoint middle button scroll
• TrackPoint middle-click scrolling
• UltraNav driver for new Windows 10 build
• W10wheel is an alternative to MarbleScroll

TPMiddle is just 11 kB and does an excellent job, especially considering how long ago it's been written, so I've basically decided to stop actively looking for an alternate solution but if it's possible to accomplish the same with just the driver settings I'd really be curious to know how.

Hey I know this is old, but I just want to say I'm interested. Wish there was some breakdown of what all the DWORDS are.
Struggling with getting scrolling back to normal (smooth, horizontal, works on all applications) after removing the battery.

Not sure why you bother spending time on this, when tpmiddle works fine on Windows 10, as it did on Windows 7. I haven't tried Windows 11 or 8, but it probably works there as well.
If the Synaptics driver had such an option, why wouldn't they add a checkbox for it in the TrackPoint settings?

This is what beauty of Linux... I'm been using Windows 7 and 10.. after jumping to linux, it instally work as it's... :/

heilong wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 20, 2022 2:41 pm

Not sure why you bother spending time on this, when tpmiddle works fine on Windows 10, as it did on Windows 7. I haven't tried Windows 11 or 8, but it probably works there as well.
If the Synaptics driver had such an option, why wouldn't they add a checkbox for it in the TrackPoint settings?

I'm on Windows 11 on a X201 (older) and TP Middle works perfectly, as does scrolling in the UWP environment. In case you or someone else wants to know what drivers I have, I have mentioned them here: viewtopic.php?f=43&t=134530. Who knows, they could work on X220 too. Good luck!

heilong wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 20, 2022 2:41 pm

Not sure why you bother spending time on this, when tpmiddle works fine on Windows 10, as it did on Windows 7. I haven't tried Windows 11 or 8, but it probably works there as well.
If the Synaptics driver had such an option, why wouldn't they add a checkbox for it in the TrackPoint settings?

I guess it just seems like useful information. I have tpmiddle.exe in my Startup folder, but it doesn't do anything.

profquad wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 25, 2023 2:35 pm

I guess it just seems like useful information. I have tpmiddle.exe in my Startup folder, but it doesn't do anything.

Make sure you get tpmiddle version 0.6. I have tried 0.7 and it didn't work (started without errors but didn't do anything).
https://sdx1.net/tools/tpmiddle/

In regards to hiding the scrolling cursor, I found out that it resides in "C:\Program Files\Synaptics\SynTP\SynTPEnh.exe"

So by modifying the exe with e.g. reshack, and replacing the scrolling cursor with a normal mouse cursor of your choice, you can effectively hide it.