Libinput 1.14 Will Support Dell's Totem Input Device

After Dell Canvas Totem support wasn't merged for libinput 1.13, the code for this nifty input device was merged last week and will be part of the upcoming Libinput 1.14.

The Linux 4.19 kernel introduced support for the Dell Canvas Totem input device but there are libinput changes needed for this user-space input library that sits between the kernel and X11/Wayland. Those changes are what's now coming for Libinput 1.14 though if you are using Wayland, there are protocol additions needed as well that are not yet in place.

If you aren't familiar with it, the Dell Canvas Totem is a dial-like input device that can be used on Dell's Canvas touch-screen for complementary actions along with Dell's Canvas Pen. The easiest way to understand the Totem is by checking out Dell's video:

Dell announced the Totem two years ago while the Linux support is finally getting in order. However, there isn't yet any notable applications/tool-kits at least on Linux that support utilizing this specialized input device.

Red Hat input expert Peter Hutterer, who also maintains libinput, has blogged about the Totem support addition for the upcoming libinput 1.14. If you are interested in this unique input device, Peter's post has all the interesting technical bits.