Today it’s hard to find a modern laptop without a touchpad. In other words, without a touch mouse. With its help, you can navigate the menu, "surf" on the Internet, even draw in photo editors. We invite you to get acquainted with the features of the functioning of such a mouse. We will also tell you how to enable / disable it, what to do in case of problems.
What is it?
Why, in fact, the touch keyboard, mouse are called the touchpad? The answer to the question in translating a word from English: touch - "touch", pad - "platform". That is: "touch a special site." Namely, in this way the device is controlled via the touch panel. A very convenient alternative to the usual optical.
The main difference between a touch mouse and a familiar mouse is that the device is completely motionless. It does not need to be moved for orientation in the program; on the contrary, you must perform certain movements with your fingers on the touchpad. Something like working with a smartphone, tablet.
Device advantages
We define the main advantages of a sensory mouse over a familiar one:
- Compactness. You do not need to carry any additional device for working with a laptop. Touch mouse - a small rectangle on the working panel.
- Universality. In older models, the touch mouse on the laptop consisted of a surfing field (moving with the touch of the cursor’s fingers) and two buttons, the right and left, which performed the same functions as in a standard optical mouse. More modern variations consist of only one field. The choice of a menu item on it is carried out with a light double tapping of the finger. In some models, with the movement of the hands, you can increase / decrease the image, rotate it, and so on.
Device cons
Many laptop owners, despite the presence of a touch panel, still prefer to connect a familiar optical mouse to a computer. Or its wireless variation. What for?
It's all about the minuses of the device:
- Convenience. If on a smartphone working with the touchpad is a pleasure, then on a laptop this sometimes represents torment. The probability of false clicks is high, it is inconvenient to call a pop-up menu, to direct the cursor on the big screen. Some users are just more comfortable using a traditional mouse.
- Sensitivity. The touch panel is in most cases highly sensitive. You can move the cursor, select the wrong action, accidentally touching the touchpad with clothes, a finger, an elbow. In some programs, such an awkward movement becomes fatal - the text is erased, the desired window is closed without returning, the settings are lost. And if this is the choice "Do not save" instead of "Save"?
Touchpad activation / deactivation: option No. 1
How to turn on the touch mouse? The easiest way to handle this task is for HP laptop owners. In the upper corner of the touchpad they will see a light indicator. Let's open the secret: it is also a touch button. A single press on it activates or deactivates the touch panel. Why is this needed? For the case when you want to work with a regular mouse connected via USB.
Touchpad activation / deactivation: option No. 2
How to disable the touch mouse? If your touchpad does not have such a button, it means that you need to turn to the function keys (Fn + the necessary F1-12 button). A small problem is that different manufacturers of laptops made different buttons “responsible” for the touch panel.
Take a closer look at the keys. Usually, an explanatory schematic drawing is applied to the desired one: a square panel and a hand reaching for it. If you didn’t notice the image, we’ll present a number of standard combinations for turning the mouse on and off:
- Acer: Fn + F7.
- Asus: Fn + F9.
- Gigabyte: Fn + F1.
Other manufacturers may make the keys F6, F8 "responsible" for the mouse.
Touchpad activation / deactivation: option No. 3
For many users, the easiest way to enable and disable the touch mouse is through the Windows options menu. This is simply done along the following path: "Control Panel" - then "Mouse" - "Settings". Next, select the action you need: enable or disable.
Imagine also another convenient option for those users who often connect via USB a conventional optical mouse. In "Windows 10" just go to "Settings", then "Devices". Dwell on the Touch Panel section. Uncheck the box "Do not disable the touchpad when connecting a mouse." Save the settings. Now, with the mouse connected, the touchpad will always turn off.
The touchpad does not work: solution No. 1
Sometimes a problem arises: the touch mouse on the laptop does not work. First of all, we advise you to try to activate it using one of the above methods. Most often, it does not function due to the fact that it is simply turned off.
Does not help? Clean the touchpad with regular soft wipes. If it is dusty, greasy, it may not respond to touch. In addition, the touch panel does not respond if you use it with wet hands.
The touchpad does not work: solution No. 2
If the cleaning did not have satisfactory consequences, then the next step is to switch to BIOS. To access the system, each manufacturer assigns certain keys. Moreover, even different models of the same manufacturer may require different keys for access to the BIOS: F1-12, Delete, Esc, etc. Therefore, it recommends for clarification to refer to the instructions for the device, the official website of the manufacturer.
Figured out? Now we start setup:
- Reboot the computer.
- Immediately after the start of the system, press the necessary button several times.
- You should see a typical BIOS screen.
- We need the Advanced tab. Navigation on the arrows on the keyboard, selection - using the "Enter".
- Now we need the Internal Pointing Device section.
- Select it by pressing Enter.
- Enabled - activation of the touch mouse; Disabled - shutdown.
- To confirm the settings, press Y.
- The BIOS exit from me is carried out standardly by pressing Esc.
- Then the device restarts, after which the settings take effect.
The touchpad does not work: solution No. 3
If working with BIOS did nothing to help the situation, then there is another way to solve the problem yourself - reinstall the drivers. The action is not complicated - just know exactly what your laptop model is. This is indicated in the instructions for it, warranty card, sticker on the back panel, box of the device.
The algorithm of actions will be as follows:
- Go to the official website of the manufacturer of your computer.
- In the search bar, copy, rewrite the exact name of the device model.
- In the new window, you will need the Utilities and Drivers tab.
- Here it is important to specify the version of the operating system installed on the laptop. For example, "Windows 10".
- From the list below, find the drivers for the latest version of the touch mouse, download them to your device (usually the action is free).
- Install the driver. This happens in the same way as installing any program or game.
- After the installation wizard finishes its work, it is important to restart the computer.
- If the touchpad is not physically damaged, it should begin to function. If the touch panel is technically faulty, then there is only one remaining input - its replacement in the service center.
Touchpad, touchpad - almost a complete replacement for the usual optical mouse on laptops. However, not all users love this innovation, for many it seems uncomfortable, non-functional. Therefore, it is important to know how to activate, deactivate the touchpad on your device. You also need to remember what to do in case of problems with the touch panel.