Getting Started

Installation

Due to a lack of time there are no current packages of thinkpad-scripts available. You will have to install from source.

Build Manually

First install all the dependencies, listed in Dependencies. Then, you can build and install with:

$ make
# make install
# ./setup.py install

To make the ACPI hooks take effect, you will need to restart acpid with the following on SysVinit/Upstart systems:

# service acpid restart

or on systemd systems:

# systemctl restart acpid

Packagers will also need to add the following line, run as root, to their post installation hook to update the udev hardware database with the information in 90-X2x0T-keyboard.hwdb:

# udevadm hwdb --update

Alternatively, you can use make full-install which does that restarting for you. However, this does not work when DESTDIR is set to something! For a direct installation, use make full-install, for packaging, just use make install.

Dependencies

These dependencies refer to Debian and Arch Linux packages, but should have similar names in other distributions. yum in Fedora and zypper in openSUSE have a search for “provides”. In openSUSE, you could use the cnf tool to find out the package.

Build

These programs are needed during the build process.

Needed Program Debian package Arch Linux package Fedora package openSUSE package
msgfmt gettext gettext gettext gettext
python3 python3 python python3-devel python3-devel
setuptools python3-setuptools python-setuptools python3-setuptools python3-setuptools
sphinx-build python3-sphinx python-sphinx python3-sphinx python3-Sphinx
xgettext gettext gettext gettext gettext
make make      

Run

These programs are required for the execution of the scripts.

Needed Program Debian package Arch Linux package Fedora package openSUSE package Version
acpid acpid acpid acpid acpid  
amixer alsa-utils alsa-utils alsa-utils alsa-utils  
linux         >= 3.11.0-17 [1]
python3 python3 python      
setuptools python3-setuptools python-setuptools python3-setuptools python3-setuptools  
udev udev systemd   systemd >= 196
xinput xinput xorg-xinput xinput xinput  
xrandr x11-xserver-utils xorg-xrandr xorg-x11-server-utils xrandr  
[1]

The Ubuntu Kernel with version 3.11.0-17 has a patched thinkpad-acpi module which allows it to control the LED in the microphone mute button. Previous versions of thinkpad-scripts would flash the power LED to signal a muted microphone. This branch of thinkpad-scripts does not flash the power LED anymore, therefore requiring that version of the kernel.

openSUSE and other distributions are not patching the 3.?.0 kernel, but ship a 3.?.? kernel. So users of distributions other than Ubuntu (maybe even Debian) would have to check whether their kernel has the acpi patch.
Optional

These programs enhance the functionality of the scripts, but are not strictly required.

Needed Program Debian package Arch Linux package For
gsettings libglib2.0-bin glib2 subpixel anti-alias order with GNOME/XFCE
kvkbd kvkbd kvkbd virtual keyboard
lsusb usbutils usbutils docking detection with a USB device
nmcli network-manager networkmanager changing wifi
pactl pulseaudio-utils libpulse volume control when docking
xbacklight xbacklight xorg-xbacklight adjusting brightness
xsetwacom xserver-xorg-input-wacom xf86-input-wacom Wacom device rotation

Setup

thinkpad-scripts includes files that hook into various hardware events:

  • a udeb hwdb file that allows proper operation of the bezel buttons on ThinkPad X220 and X230 Tablet computers
  • udev rules to automatically run thinkpad-dock when docking and undocking
  • ACPI hooks to automatically call thinkpad-rotate when the screen is rotated/unrotated

All of these files should be installed as part of the installation process. If acpid is not enabled by default on your computer (which is the case for Arch Linux), you need to enable and start it for the ACPI hooks to work. Additionally, after installing thinkpad-scripts, you may need to restart udev and acpid for the new rules and hooks to take effect.

Usage

After following the configuration instructions above, you generally will not need to call any of the scripts manually. However, in case you do, this is a synopsis of each command:

thinkpad-dock [on|off]
thinkpad-mutemic
thinkpad-rotate [direction]
thinkpad-touch [on|off]
thinkpad-touchpad

See the Manual Pages for more details.

Configuration

You can modify the default configuration for things such as the screen brightness to set when docking, the relative positions of displays, and the direction of screen rotation by placing configuration scripts in $HOME/.config/thinkpad-scripts. See the Manual Pages for more details.

You may need to modify some of the parameters depending on your hardware. See Hardware-Specific Configuration for more details.

You can also add scripts that will be called before/after docking or rotating the display. See the man pages for thinkpad-dock and thinkpad-rotate for more details.

Tips

thinkpad-scripts fixes the bezel buttons so that they work, but it does not bind anything to them by default. If you’d like, you can bind the thinkpad-rotate script (or any other program for that matter) to one of the bezel buttons using your desktop environment. For example, under GNOME, go to “Settings” → “Keyboard” → “Shortcuts” → “Custom Shortcuts” and add a new “shortcut”.

thinkpad-scripts includes a script, thinkpad-touch, to make it easy to toggle the touchscreen of the X220 Tablet on/off. If you want to disable your touch screen on startup, use your desktop environment to call thinkpad-touch off when starting.

Under KDE, it is convenient to place all of the scripts in a drawer so that you can access them quickly. See Script Drawer For KDE Plasma Panel for instructions to do this.