Elementary OS is Bringing Multi-Touch Gestures to the OS
User-friendly Linux distribution, elementary OS, is working to make using the fan-favorite platform even better for laptops.
For the longest time, when Linux users wanted to employ gestures for their trackpads, they'd have to go to great lengths to install and configure third-party software. Many times, that configuration was handled by way of text-based configuration files. Because of this, a large number of mobile Linux users did without.
The developers of one of the most user-friendly Linux distributions on the market are hoping to change that, with plans to include multi-touch gesture support in the upcoming elementary OS 6 release.
In conjunction with José Expósito, the author of Touchégg, the developers have brought to life window manager gestures. This is made possible by using the Touchégg Daemon to capture input events and communicate them to the elementary OS window manager, Gala.
The elementary OS developers are considering two possible proposals:
- Multitasking View
- Workspace switching
Both of these options use 1:1 responsive, finger-tracking gestures, and when animations aren't available in the window manager, the system will default to those from Touchégg. They're also putting into place gestures for maximizing and tiling windows. With the help of other technologies, these multi-touch gestures will also extend to functions like browser back and other navigations. But since this is still in early development, it's hard to say what all will be supported upon initial release.
Users will be able to customize which gestures are applied to particular actions (such as three-finger swipe up to reveal the multitasking view).
For more information, check out the official elementary OS blog.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Hits an Important Milestone
If you pay attention to the news in the Linux-sphere, you've probably heard that the open source operating system recently crashed through a ceiling no one thought possible.
-
Plasma Bigscreen Returns
A developer discovered that the Plasma Bigscreen feature had been sitting untouched, so he decided to do something about it.
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.