Synaptics

synaptics is the open source input driver for Synaptics and ALPS touchpads.

Kernel
You need to activate the following kernel options:

Configuration
The driver has a lot options to tune it to your needs. See the synaptics man page for more information.

Fixed configuration
Referring to xorg.conf there should have a directory on the system. If there is none create one:

Configure file as in the example below:

Configuration at runtime
You need to enable above option to be able to configure the driver also at runtime. Changes at runtime will be lost with the next start of the X-server. To keep them, add them to the above config file.

You can configure the driver with the program  . Some examples:

List all parameters:

Cut the right side of the touch area to expand the vertical scroll area:

Finding the right edge parameter:

Disable the mouse click function:

Finally, You can dump Your handpicked configuration to the file pasting output of the following command inside the   section:

Alternatively there is the KDE systemsettings module :

My Touchpad is not recognized
If your touchpad does not show in either  nor , that might be due to your PS/2 controller and how it is handled by the kernel. One indication is if

returns something along the lines of

That AUX port is where the touchpad is connected. Try adding the following to your kernel command line, e.g. in :

If, after rebooting with these parameters, you get a generic  input device, you may need to add the appropriate PS/2 extension driver to your Kernel config:

After rebooting, your touchpad should be recognized correctly.