Automatic screen rotation

[frtodd]

The #pinetab2 as shipped is a very nice KDE laptop. I'm interested in using it as a tablet. Tonight's discovery:

Automatic screen rotation!

In your terminal, type:

Code:

sudo pacman -S iio-sensor-proxy

(I assume you are working from an "administrator" with sudo access.) 

Log out & back in. Then your screen will rotate to match the orientation in which you are holding it! 

(Some of us are easily amused...)

source

[zoward]

The #pinetab2 as shipped is a very nice KDE laptop. I'm interested in using it as a tablet. Tonight's discovery:

Automatic screen rotation!

In your terminal, type:

Code:

sudo pacman -S iio-sensor-proxy

(I assume you are working from an "administrator" with sudo access.) 

Log out & back in. Then your screen will rotate to match the orientation in which you are holding it! 

(Some of us are easily amused...)

source

Hi Frtodd!  I tried this, and it definitely works when the tablet is not in the case.  However, I found that when I booted up the tablet while it was in the case, the screen would rotate into portrait mode and display sideways, and the X and Y axes of the cursor were reversed with the touchpad, e.g., moving my finger right on the touchpad would cause the pointer to move down on the screen, etc.   To be fair, I'd also used the suggestion of calling xrandr from the Xsetup script to keep the login screen in landscape mode, so that may have affected this.  I commented out that call, and the problem remained.  

Anyway, I ended up removing the package ("pacman -R iio-sensor-proxy"), and the everything went back to normal. 

Thanks,
zoward

[frtodd]

zoward,

Thanks for reporting the issue. I have no idea what might be wrong.

I hadn't tried taking the device out of the case yet: I always boot it inside. My user password would be painful on a virtual keyboard! But while typing this messsage, I removed the tablet, rotated it all the way around (allowing the screen to catch up in each direction), and then popped it back in the case to finish typing.

It does take a moment for the screen to catch up after each change in orientation: re-scale/trim the background, re-position the widgets.

While in the case, I find the touchpad orientation doesn't change: if I hold the whole contraption sideways (portrait mode with the power button on top), swiping to the right on the touchpad relative to the keyboard (down relative to gravity) still moves to the right (according to the new orientation) on the screen. This is the behavior I would expect/hope for.

I also have the Xsetup/xrandr fix rom chzbacon implemented. When I have a moment, I'm curious to remove it and see if the automatic rotation takes care of the login screen.

[exu]

Hey zoward,

Had the same issue as you did.
I fixed it by going into the KDE display settings and unchecking "only when in tablet mode".
With that, rotation also worked with the keyboard plugged in.
Maybe the portrait mode is set as the default somewhere.

@frtodd For me the lock screen is still in portrait mode also with this package installed.

[capnsweetcheeks]

Hey zoward,

Had the same issue as you did.
I fixed it by going into the KDE display settings and unchecking "only when in tablet mode".
With that, rotation also worked with the keyboard plugged in.
Maybe the portrait mode is set as the default somewhere.

@frtodd For me the lock screen is still in portrait mode also with this package installed.

Hi exu,

Dumb question incoming: where in the KDE Display Settings is there a checkbox saying "only in tablet mode"?

I don't see that anywhere!

[zoward]

Hey zoward,

Had the same issue as you did.
I fixed it by going into the KDE display settings and unchecking "only when in tablet mode".
With that, rotation also worked with the keyboard plugged in.
Maybe the portrait mode is set as the default somewhere.

@frtodd For me the lock screen is still in portrait mode also with this package installed.

Hey exu!  I reinstalled and cleared the tablet mode setting.  It's working fine now.  Thanks!

My lock screen is in landscape mode.  I used the script that someone posted in the PineTab Software section to fix the login screen, which was also appearing in Portrait mode.  It may have fixed the lock screen as well.

[frtodd]

@exu I have the same experience: removed the Xsetup/xrandr tweaks and my login screen went back to portrait. The irony is that if I was holding the device like a tablet, that's probably the orientation I would prefer. Once I log in, it begins responding to its physical orientation. So the Xsetup/xrandr tweak is totally about hardcoding the display orientation before/after login (when the desktop is no longer controlling the screen orientation). I'm going to go put that back in place. :-)

@zoward I'm glad it worked for you.

[zoward]

Hey zoward,

Had the same issue as you did.
I fixed it by going into the KDE display settings and unchecking "only when in tablet mode".
With that, rotation also worked with the keyboard plugged in.
Maybe the portrait mode is set as the default somewhere.

@frtodd For me the lock screen is still in portrait mode also with this package installed.

Hi exu,

Dumb question incoming: where in the KDE Display Settings is there a checkbox saying "only in tablet mode"?

I don't see that anywhere!

On the Application Launcher, go to Settings -> System Settings.  Scroll down to the Hardware section, to Display and Monitor.  The checkbox is under "Orientation".

[Corconegre]

The #pinetab2 as shipped is a very nice KDE laptop. I'm interested in using it as a tablet. Tonight's discovery:

Automatic screen rotation!

In your terminal, type:

Code:

sudo pacman -S iio-sensor-proxy

(I assume you are working from an "administrator" with sudo access.) 

Log out & back in. Then your screen will rotate to match the orientation in which you are holding it! 

(Some of us are easily amused...)

source

Thanks! worked like a charm

[KelsonV]

Worked perfectly! Thanks for the tip!