[Libreoffice-bugs] [Bug 112119] New: LibreOffice installer doesn' t add appropriate entries to TrackPoint TP4TABLE.DAT file

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=112119

            Bug ID: 112119
           Summary: LibreOffice installer doesn't add appropriate entries
                    to TrackPoint TP4TABLE.DAT file
           Product: LibreOffice
           Version: 5.0 all versions
          Hardware: x86-64 (AMD64)
                OS: Windows (All)
            Status: UNCONFIRMED
          Severity: minor
          Priority: medium
         Component: LibreOffice
          Assignee: libreoffice-bugs at lists.freedesktop.org
          Reporter: PeterCraigMartin+LO at Gmail.com

IBM/Lenovo ThinkPads (and some of their standalone keyboards) have
TrackPoint-branded pointing sticks for mousing and scrolling. Scrolling
settings for individual applications are found in a TP4TABLE.DAT file. If an
application does not have an entry in that file, or if it's wrong or
incomplete, TrackPoint scrolling may not work at all in that application, or it
may work vertically but not horizontally. In my TP4TABLE.DAT file, the only
LibreOffice-related entry I found in my original, manufacturer-supplied
TP4TABLE.DAT file was for OpenOffice (soffice.bin), and horizontal TrackPoint
scrolling didn't work in Calc.

I believe that installers for a number of major applications automatically add
appropriate entries for their apps in TP4TABLE.DAT when they are run. This is
extremely useful for pointing-stick users, who are able scroll in the new app
the same way they do in most of the others.

I have been unable to find comprehensive documentation for TP4TABLE.DAT on the
Web, and for a user to edit the file himself requires informed guesswork using
the summary at the head of the file and tips from other users. I was able to
get horizontal TrackPoint scrolling working in Calc by adding the following
entry to the Pass 0 rules:

; LibreOffice Calc
*,*,scalc.exe,*,*,*,WheelStd,0,9

but I don't know whether it's the best solution. I do know that many users
won't take the time and effort to find out how to do it themselves but will
instead simply blame LibreOffice for offering poor scrolling support.

Presumably, either full documentation is available to software developers or
they are better able than users to infer the syntax and options from
pre-supplied entries. Either way, I'm certain LibreOffice developers would be
better able than users to choose the best settings for the various LibreOffice
programs.

NOTE: IBM/Lenovo TrackPoints aren't the only pointing-stick mousing and
scrolling devices out there. They are commonly found on higher-end laptops and
mobile workstations and, in addition to TrackPoint (IBM/Lenovo), are known
variously as PointStick (HP), Track Stick (Dell), AccuPoint (Toshiba),
FineTrack (Acer), Pointing Stick (Sony, Samsung), StickPoint (Fujitsu),
QuickPoint (Fujitsu), NX Point (NEC), C-Stick (Nintendo), and FlexPoint
(Sprintek). I don't know whether these other pointing-stick implementations use
a TP4TABLE.DAT file or something similar for configuration, but for the
millions who use these machines, automatically adding full pointing-stick
scrolling support at installation would make LibreOffice more usable out of the
box.

Thanks for considering my input; all the best.

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