1ALPS Touchpad Protocol
2----------------------
3
4Introduction
5------------
6Currently the ALPS touchpad driver supports seven protocol versions in use by
7ALPS touchpads, called versions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
8
9Since roughly mid-2010 several new ALPS touchpads have been released and
10integrated into a variety of laptops and netbooks.  These new touchpads
11have enough behavior differences that the alps_model_data definition
12table, describing the properties of the different versions, is no longer
13adequate.  The design choices were to re-define the alps_model_data
14table, with the risk of regression testing existing devices, or isolate
15the new devices outside of the alps_model_data table.  The latter design
16choice was made.  The new touchpad signatures are named: "Rushmore",
17"Pinnacle", and "Dolphin", which you will see in the alps.c code.
18For the purposes of this document, this group of ALPS touchpads will
19generically be called "new ALPS touchpads".
20
21We experimented with probing the ACPI interface _HID (Hardware ID)/_CID
22(Compatibility ID) definition as a way to uniquely identify the
23different ALPS variants but there did not appear to be a 1:1 mapping.
24In fact, it appeared to be an m:n mapping between the _HID and actual
25hardware type.
26
27Detection
28---------
29
30All ALPS touchpads should respond to the "E6 report" command sequence:
31E8-E6-E6-E6-E9. An ALPS touchpad should respond with either 00-00-0A or
3200-00-64 if no buttons are pressed. The bits 0-2 of the first byte will be 1s
33if some buttons are pressed.
34
35If the E6 report is successful, the touchpad model is identified using the "E7
36report" sequence: E8-E7-E7-E7-E9. The response is the model signature and is
37matched against known models in the alps_model_data_array.
38
39For older touchpads supporting protocol versions 3 and 4, the E7 report
40model signature is always 73-02-64. To differentiate between these
41versions, the response from the "Enter Command Mode" sequence must be
42inspected as described below.
43
44The new ALPS touchpads have an E7 signature of 73-03-50 or 73-03-0A but
45seem to be better differentiated by the EC Command Mode response.
46
47Command Mode
48------------
49
50Protocol versions 3 and 4 have a command mode that is used to read and write
51one-byte device registers in a 16-bit address space. The command sequence
52EC-EC-EC-E9 places the device in command mode, and the device will respond
53with 88-07 followed by a third byte. This third byte can be used to determine
54whether the devices uses the version 3 or 4 protocol.
55
56To exit command mode, PSMOUSE_CMD_SETSTREAM (EA) is sent to the touchpad.
57
58While in command mode, register addresses can be set by first sending a
59specific command, either EC for v3 devices or F5 for v4 devices. Then the
60address is sent one nibble at a time, where each nibble is encoded as a
61command with optional data. This encoding differs slightly between the v3 and
62v4 protocols.
63
64Once an address has been set, the addressed register can be read by sending
65PSMOUSE_CMD_GETINFO (E9). The first two bytes of the response contains the
66address of the register being read, and the third contains the value of the
67register. Registers are written by writing the value one nibble at a time
68using the same encoding used for addresses.
69
70For the new ALPS touchpads, the EC command is used to enter command
71mode. The response in the new ALPS touchpads is significantly different,
72and more important in determining the behavior.  This code has been
73separated from the original alps_model_data table and put in the
74alps_identify function.  For example, there seem to be two hardware init
75sequences for the "Dolphin" touchpads as determined by the second byte
76of the EC response.
77
78Packet Format
79-------------
80
81In the following tables, the following notation is used.
82
83 CAPITALS = stick, miniscules = touchpad
84
85?'s can have different meanings on different models, such as wheel rotation,
86extra buttons, stick buttons on a dualpoint, etc.
87
88PS/2 packet format
89------------------
90
91 byte 0:  0    0 YSGN XSGN    1    M    R    L
92 byte 1: X7   X6   X5   X4   X3   X2   X1   X0
93 byte 2: Y7   Y6   Y5   Y4   Y3   Y2   Y1   Y0
94
95Note that the device never signals overflow condition.
96
97For protocol version 2 devices when the trackpoint is used, and no fingers
98are on the touchpad, the M R L bits signal the combined status of both the
99pointingstick and touchpad buttons.
100
101ALPS Absolute Mode - Protocol Version 1
102--------------------------------------
103
104 byte 0:  1    0    0    0    1   x9   x8   x7
105 byte 1:  0   x6   x5   x4   x3   x2   x1   x0
106 byte 2:  0    ?    ?    l    r    ?  fin  ges
107 byte 3:  0    ?    ?    ?    ?   y9   y8   y7
108 byte 4:  0   y6   y5   y4   y3   y2   y1   y0
109 byte 5:  0   z6   z5   z4   z3   z2   z1   z0
110
111ALPS Absolute Mode - Protocol Version 2
112---------------------------------------
113
114 byte 0:  1    ?    ?    ?    1  PSM  PSR  PSL
115 byte 1:  0   x6   x5   x4   x3   x2   x1   x0
116 byte 2:  0  x10   x9   x8   x7    ?  fin  ges
117 byte 3:  0   y9   y8   y7    1    M    R    L
118 byte 4:  0   y6   y5   y4   y3   y2   y1   y0
119 byte 5:  0   z6   z5   z4   z3   z2   z1   z0
120
121Protocol Version 2 DualPoint devices send standard PS/2 mouse packets for
122the DualPoint Stick. The M, R and L bits signal the combined status of both
123the pointingstick and touchpad buttons, except for Dell dualpoint devices
124where the pointingstick buttons get reported separately in the PSM, PSR
125and PSL bits.
126
127Dualpoint device -- interleaved packet format
128---------------------------------------------
129
130 byte 0:    1    1    0    0    1    1    1    1
131 byte 1:    0   x6   x5   x4   x3   x2   x1   x0
132 byte 2:    0  x10   x9   x8   x7    0  fin  ges
133 byte 3:    0    0 YSGN XSGN    1    1    1    1
134 byte 4:   X7   X6   X5   X4   X3   X2   X1   X0
135 byte 5:   Y7   Y6   Y5   Y4   Y3   Y2   Y1   Y0
136 byte 6:    0   y9   y8   y7    1    m    r    l
137 byte 7:    0   y6   y5   y4   y3   y2   y1   y0
138 byte 8:    0   z6   z5   z4   z3   z2   z1   z0
139
140Devices which use the interleaving format normally send standard PS/2 mouse
141packets for the DualPoint Stick + ALPS Absolute Mode packets for the
142touchpad, switching to the interleaved packet format when both the stick and
143the touchpad are used at the same time.
144
145ALPS Absolute Mode - Protocol Version 3
146---------------------------------------
147
148ALPS protocol version 3 has three different packet formats. The first two are
149associated with touchpad events, and the third is associated with trackstick
150events.
151
152The first type is the touchpad position packet.
153
154 byte 0:    1    ?   x1   x0    1    1    1    1
155 byte 1:    0  x10   x9   x8   x7   x6   x5   x4
156 byte 2:    0  y10   y9   y8   y7   y6   y5   y4
157 byte 3:    0    M    R    L    1    m    r    l
158 byte 4:    0   mt   x3   x2   y3   y2   y1   y0
159 byte 5:    0   z6   z5   z4   z3   z2   z1   z0
160
161Note that for some devices the trackstick buttons are reported in this packet,
162and on others it is reported in the trackstick packets.
163
164The second packet type contains bitmaps representing the x and y axes. In the
165bitmaps a given bit is set if there is a finger covering that position on the
166given axis. Thus the bitmap packet can be used for low-resolution multi-touch
167data, although finger tracking is not possible.  This packet also encodes the
168number of contacts (f1 and f0 in the table below).
169
170 byte 0:    1    1   x1   x0    1    1    1    1
171 byte 1:    0   x8   x7   x6   x5   x4   x3   x2
172 byte 2:    0   y7   y6   y5   y4   y3   y2   y1
173 byte 3:    0  y10   y9   y8    1    1    1    1
174 byte 4:    0  x14  x13  x12  x11  x10   x9   y0
175 byte 5:    0    1    ?    ?    ?    ?   f1   f0
176
177This packet only appears after a position packet with the mt bit set, and
178usually only appears when there are two or more contacts (although
179occasionally it's seen with only a single contact).
180
181The final v3 packet type is the trackstick packet.
182
183 byte 0:    1    1   x7   y7    1    1    1    1
184 byte 1:    0   x6   x5   x4   x3   x2   x1   x0
185 byte 2:    0   y6   y5   y4   y3   y2   y1   y0
186 byte 3:    0    1    0    0    1    0    0    0
187 byte 4:    0   z4   z3   z2   z1   z0    ?    ?
188 byte 5:    0    0    1    1    1    1    1    1
189
190ALPS Absolute Mode - Protocol Version 4
191---------------------------------------
192
193Protocol version 4 has an 8-byte packet format.
194
195 byte 0:    1    ?   x1   x0    1    1    1    1
196 byte 1:    0  x10   x9   x8   x7   x6   x5   x4
197 byte 2:    0  y10   y9   y8   y7   y6   y5   y4
198 byte 3:    0    1   x3   x2   y3   y2   y1   y0
199 byte 4:    0    ?    ?    ?    1    ?    r    l
200 byte 5:    0   z6   z5   z4   z3   z2   z1   z0
201 byte 6:    bitmap data (described below)
202 byte 7:    bitmap data (described below)
203
204The last two bytes represent a partial bitmap packet, with 3 full packets
205required to construct a complete bitmap packet.  Once assembled, the 6-byte
206bitmap packet has the following format:
207
208 byte 0:    0    1   x7   x6   x5   x4   x3   x2
209 byte 1:    0   x1   x0   y4   y3   y2   y1   y0
210 byte 2:    0    0    ?  x14  x13  x12  x11  x10
211 byte 3:    0   x9   x8   y9   y8   y7   y6   y5
212 byte 4:    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0
213 byte 5:    0    0    0    0    0    0    0  y10
214
215There are several things worth noting here.
216
217 1) In the bitmap data, bit 6 of byte 0 serves as a sync byte to
218    identify the first fragment of a bitmap packet.
219
220 2) The bitmaps represent the same data as in the v3 bitmap packets, although
221    the packet layout is different.
222
223 3) There doesn't seem to be a count of the contact points anywhere in the v4
224    protocol packets. Deriving a count of contact points must be done by
225    analyzing the bitmaps.
226
227 4) There is a 3 to 1 ratio of position packets to bitmap packets. Therefore
228    MT position can only be updated for every third ST position update, and
229    the count of contact points can only be updated every third packet as
230    well.
231
232So far no v4 devices with tracksticks have been encountered.
233
234ALPS Absolute Mode - Protocol Version 5
235---------------------------------------
236This is basically Protocol Version 3 but with different logic for packet
237decode.  It uses the same alps_process_touchpad_packet_v3 call with a
238specialized decode_fields function pointer to correctly interpret the
239packets.  This appears to only be used by the Dolphin devices.
240
241For single-touch, the 6-byte packet format is:
242
243 byte 0:    1    1    0    0    1    0    0    0
244 byte 1:    0   x6   x5   x4   x3   x2   x1   x0
245 byte 2:    0   y6   y5   y4   y3   y2   y1   y0
246 byte 3:    0    M    R    L    1    m    r    l
247 byte 4:   y10  y9   y8   y7  x10   x9   x8   x7
248 byte 5:    0   z6   z5   z4   z3   z2   z1   z0
249
250For mt, the format is:
251
252 byte 0:    1    1    1    n3   1   n2   n1   x24
253 byte 1:    1   y7   y6    y5  y4   y3   y2    y1
254 byte 2:    ?   x2   x1   y12 y11  y10   y9    y8
255 byte 3:    0  x23  x22   x21 x20  x19  x18   x17
256 byte 4:    0   x9   x8    x7  x6   x5   x4    x3
257 byte 5:    0  x16  x15   x14 x13  x12  x11   x10
258
259ALPS Absolute Mode - Protocol Version 6
260---------------------------------------
261
262For trackstick packet, the format is:
263
264 byte 0:    1    1    1    1    1    1    1    1
265 byte 1:    0   X6   X5   X4   X3   X2   X1   X0
266 byte 2:    0   Y6   Y5   Y4   Y3   Y2   Y1   Y0
267 byte 3:    ?   Y7   X7    ?    ?    M    R    L
268 byte 4:   Z7   Z6   Z5   Z4   Z3   Z2   Z1   Z0
269 byte 5:    0    1    1    1    1    1    1    1
270
271For touchpad packet, the format is:
272
273 byte 0:    1    1    1    1    1    1    1    1
274 byte 1:    0    0    0    0   x3   x2   x1   x0
275 byte 2:    0    0    0    0   y3   y2   y1   y0
276 byte 3:    ?   x7   x6   x5   x4    ?    r    l
277 byte 4:    ?   y7   y6   y5   y4    ?    ?    ?
278 byte 5:   z7   z6   z5   z4   z3   z2   z1   z0
279
280(v6 touchpad does not have middle button)
281
282ALPS Absolute Mode - Protocol Version 7
283---------------------------------------
284
285For trackstick packet, the format is:
286
287 byte 0:    0    1    0    0    1    0    0    0
288 byte 1:    1    1    *    *    1    M    R    L
289 byte 2:   X7    1   X5   X4   X3   X2   X1   X0
290 byte 3:   Z6    1   Y6   X6    1   Y2   Y1   Y0
291 byte 4:   Y7    0   Y5   Y4   Y3    1    1    0
292 byte 5:  T&P    0   Z5   Z4   Z3   Z2   Z1   Z0
293
294For touchpad packet, the format is:
295
296         packet-fmt     b7     b6     b5     b4     b3     b2     b1     b0
297 byte 0: TWO & MULTI     L      1      R      M      1   Y0-2   Y0-1   Y0-0
298 byte 0: NEW             L      1   X1-5      1      1   Y0-2   Y0-1   Y0-0
299 byte 1:             Y0-10   Y0-9   Y0-8   Y0-7   Y0-6   Y0-5   Y0-4   Y0-3
300 byte 2:             X0-11      1  X0-10   X0-9   X0-8   X0-7   X0-6   X0-5
301 byte 3:             X1-11      1   X0-4   X0-3      1   X0-2   X0-1   X0-0
302 byte 4: TWO         X1-10    TWO   X1-9   X1-8   X1-7   X1-6   X1-5   X1-4
303 byte 4: MULTI       X1-10    TWO   X1-9   X1-8   X1-7   X1-6   Y1-5      1
304 byte 4: NEW         X1-10    TWO   X1-9   X1-8   X1-7   X1-6      0      0
305 byte 5: TWO & NEW   Y1-10      0   Y1-9   Y1-8   Y1-7   Y1-6   Y1-5   Y1-4
306 byte 5: MULTI       Y1-10      0   Y1-9   Y1-8   Y1-7   Y1-6    F-1    F-0
307
308 L:         Left button
309 R / M:     Non-clickpads: Right / Middle button
310            Clickpads: When > 2 fingers are down, and some fingers
311            are in the button area, then the 2 coordinates reported
312            are for fingers outside the button area and these report
313            extra fingers being present in the right / left button
314            area. Note these fingers are not added to the F field!
315            so if a TWO packet is received and R = 1 then there are
316            3 fingers down, etc.
317 TWO:       1: Two touches present, byte 0/4/5 are in TWO fmt
318            0: If byte 4 bit 0 is 1, then byte 0/4/5 are in MULTI fmt
319               otherwise byte 0 bit 4 must be set and byte 0/4/5 are
320               in NEW fmt
321 F:         Number of fingers - 3, 0 means 3 fingers, 1 means 4 ...
322