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DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
June 20, 2010
Q.
How can I modify and possibly turn off the
touchpad on my laptop when I have an
external mouse installed? Bumping or
touching it with my palm causes it to move
all over the place and makes typing
difficult.
A.
I will have to agree with you that at times,
the touchpad can be very annoying. I
especially am very irritated when it
automatically selects things when I
accidently touch it. Without an external
mouse installed on a laptop the touchpad is
an absolute necessity, but it can be very
annoying when an external mouse is in use.
The
information herein will be for the most
common touchpad used on most laptops from
Synaptics. If your manufacturer is different
you will have to obtain this information
from its manual or website.
The
Synaptics specific software may or may not
be installed on your laptop. The touchpad
will usually work with the generic software
supplied with Windows. It becomes just
another PS/2 type device. If the software is
not installed, then you will not be able to
modify the specific touchpad's actions.
To check
if the specific Synaptic's software is installed on
your laptop, click Start then open the
Control Panel and click on the mouse icon.
If your control panel is set to category
view, I strongly suggest that you change it
to Large Icon view. I find that the category
view is far more confusing.
When you
open the Mouse Properties dialog, look for
the Hardware tab. Click on it, and if one of
the devices listed is the Synaptics device,
the software is installed. If it isn't
listed, then the software is not installed
and you are using the Windows PS/2 generic
software.
Fortunately, Synaptics has a website where
you can download their latest software and
it covers almost all their touchpads. Click
HERE to
download the software from the Synaptic's
website.
Once the software has been installed, reopen
the mouse dialog from the Control Panel, and
click on the "Device Settings" tab. A dialog
similar to this will open.
Here you
can completely disable the touch pad and/or
make other choices as to how its icon will
be displayed in the system tray. Clicking on
the Settings button open this dialog.
Here you
can make more of adjustments to the touchpad
than you ever thought possible. Things like
turning off the tapping capabilities, my
favorite, and adjusting things like the "PalmCheck"
can be changed. This can help to eliminate
the annoying cursor movement when the
touchpad is accidently touched while typing.
The
touchpad settings can also be accessed by
right clicking the touchpad icon in the
system tray if activate. Some touchpads may
even have a setting that allows
automatically turning off the touchpad when
an external mouse is installed.
Once
these settings have been thoroughly explored
the desired action from your touchpad should
be attainable. |
