In this article, we will show you how to Use Touchpad on Linux Laptop as a Graphics Pad. Linux is an open source operating system (OS). An OS is the software that directly manages a system’s hardware and resources, such as CPU, memory, and storage. The OS sits between applications and hardware and provides the connections between all your software and the physical resources that do the work. Think of an operating system like a car engine. An engine can run on its own, but it doesn’t become a working car until it’s connected to a transmission, axles and wheels.
If the engine doesn’t run properly, the rest of the car can’t function. Linux was designed much like UNIX, but has evolved to run on a wide variety of devices, from phones to supercomputers. Any Linux-based operating system consists of the Linux kernel, which manages hardware resources, and a set of software packages that make up the rest of the operating system. Below we have mentioned the steps to Use Touchpad on Your Linux Laptop as a Graphics Pad.
How to Use Touchpad on Linux Laptop as a Graphics Pad
You Can Use Your Touchpad as a Doodle Pad on Linux
FingerPaint is open-source software that lets you draw using your laptop’s touchpad on Linux. To install it on any Debian-based system:
sudo apt install xinput python3-pip python3-tk
You can also find FingerPaint in the Arch User Repository (AUR), with versions available for both X11 and Wayland.
Once you’ve installed FingerPaint, run it with:
fingerpaint -o painting.png
where painting.png is the name under which FingerPaint will save the file.
Alternatively, running FingerPaint with the following options will copy the image to your clipboard, so you can paste your picture into GIMP for further manipulation.
fingerpaint -o – | xclip -sel clip -t image/png
Pressing any key or clicking the touchpad will finish the drawing. Your drawing is restricted to one color as if you were using an actual pen or pencil.
Final Words
We hope you like this article on How to Use Touchpad on Your Linux Laptop as a Graphics Pad. FingerPaint is a slick digital drawing tool that lets you doodle anything with your finger on your laptop’s trackpad. Ideal for impulsive illustrations or, more likely, to sign documents digitally without needing additional hardware.
I hope you understand this article, How to Use Touchpad on Linux Laptop as a Graphics Pad.
