Xubuntu LTS 16.0.4 not recognizing bash script

Question

I wrote a bash script to alter the touchpad settings using xinput but when I try to run the script I am getting a message saying the file doesn't exist. Here is the script:

#!/bin/bash

# change 'Synaptics Move Speed (278)' mouse speed
xinput set-prop 11 278 1, 15, .05, 40

# change and invert 'Synaptics Scrolling Distance (275)'
xinput set-prop 11 275 -90, -90

# enable 'Synaptics Locked Drags (280)'
xinput set-prop 11 280 1

# change 'Synaptics Locked Drags Timeout (281)'
xinput set-prop 11 281 600

# change 'device accel Constant Deceleration (263)'
xinput set-prop 11 263 3

#change 'Device Accel Adaptive Deceleration (264)'
xinput set-prop 11 264 2

the script is called touchpad.sh and when I run 'sudo touchpad.sh', I get the error message:

sudo: touchpad.sh: command not found

Im confused because I can run each of these commands individually on the command line so Im not sure whats wrong.

Please add the error message to your question. – Joachim de Groot Mar 04 '18 at 00:13 — Joachim de Groot, Mar 04 '18 at 00:13
I just added the error message. Sorry about that – Josh Lowy Mar 04 '18 at 00:20 — Josh Lowy, Mar 04 '18 at 00:20

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 04 '18 at 00:45

1

Your script cannot be found by the shell.

The shell looks for files to execute in the folders listed in the PATH environment variable. When your script doesn't reside in one of those folder, you need to specify the full path to the file.

For example, if the script is located in your current working directory, you'd call it with

./touchpad.sh

answered Mar 04 '18 at 00:45

Joachim de Groot

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even when I specify the correct path it still returns the same error message – Josh Lowy Mar 04 '18 at 00:48
Did you make it executable? `chmod +x touchpad.sh` – Joachim de Groot Mar 04 '18 at 00:59
Unfortunately yes. Still the same error :/ – Josh Lowy Mar 04 '18 at 01:00
Is sudo installed? – Joachim de Groot Mar 04 '18 at 01:02
I believe sudo is installed but just to make sure how can I check? – Josh Lowy Mar 04 '18 at 01:06
`which sudo` or `sudo --help`, for example. – Joachim de Groot Mar 04 '18 at 01:15
It is installed – Josh Lowy Mar 04 '18 at 01:16
Btw, you don't need to run that script with sudo. Please try running it without it and give the exact output of it fails again. – Joachim de Groot Mar 04 '18 at 01:19
Are u referring to the chmod +x touchpad.sh command? If so, without sudo it spits out: 'No such file or directory' – Josh Lowy Mar 04 '18 at 01:25
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Ok. I think you need to figure out where you put that file before you try to execute it. – Joachim de Groot Mar 04 '18 at 01:41
@JoshLowy Where did you save it? If it's lost, you can do a brute force search under your home with `find $HOME -type f -name touchpad.sh`. When you find it, a trick. Since `/usr/local/bin` is generally in the default path (check with `echo $PATH`), you can create a soft-link to you script in `/usr/local/bin` (e.g. `sudo ln -s /full/path/to/touchpad.sh /usr/local/bin`). That way, wherever you call `touchpad.sh` from, it will be found in the default path. – David C. Rankin Mar 04 '18 at 02:21
It's saved on the desktop – Josh Lowy Mar 04 '18 at 02:22

Xubuntu LTS 16.0.4 not recognizing bash script

1 Answers1