Can you disable a laptop touchpad (and the reason why it is necessary)

[Eoghan]

I am constantly frustrated when writing by accidentally toc..ds etuching it. This then alters the location of the cursor and breaks up sentences, wor

There! that was an example which I will leave in to demonstrate my point.

Possible solutions
1. attach a proper keyboard tot he laptop
2. place a piece of card over the touchpad
3. alter the number of clicks required (i.e. touches)

Of the three the last seems the most sensible option. So how do I do it in Windows Vista?

 

[NB3K]

Isn't there a button on the touch pad that disables it?

 

[nasa30]

What make and model of laptop are you using?

 

[Edward]

One of the function keys should be set up to disable/enable it. I had the same problem with my Acers. (The work Lenovo seems to have a smaller touchpad, so it wasn't a problem)

May vary by computer, but on the Acers, hold down the blue function key and hit F7 Fn F7.

 

[Andres]

I know your exact problem! It's for that reason that I rarely use laptops. We have one, but I rarely bring it out unless we're traveling. My solution: Buy a desktop.

 

[Eoghan]

My laptop is a Dell Inspirion 1545

---------- Post added at 10:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:59 AM ----------

I have gone into the settings and altered it to sensing "heavy touch" as opposed to light touch. I will see how it gets on with that.

Any other tips?

 

[nasa30]

Try this:

Go to Control Panel
Find Mouse (might have to change to View by Small icons)
Click Mouse
In Mouse Properties Select Dell Touchpad
Click Big Arrow
Click Device Select (top left)
On the bottom of page tick: “Disable Touchpad

If not, then you might try some of these hot keys listed on the Dell site.

 

[Scottish Lass]

Yes, the control panel settings work to adjust (or disable) the touchpads on Asus and Toshiba laptops, too, in case anyone else has the same question. Tim turns off the click part of the touch pad (must use the mouse-style button below it to click links), and I have mine set where it's less sensitive, but can still be used.

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

Remove the drivers for the touchpad. Finis.

AMR

 

[Eoghan]

I have gone into the settings and altered it to sensing "heavy touch" as opposed to light touch. I will see how it gets on with that.

Any other tips?

 

[O'GodHowGreatThouArt]

Not exactly a "solution", but it is something worth looking at for future laptops.

When you're typing (assuming you're doing it properly and not in a "hunt-and-peck" style), the shape of you typing will create a triangle. The bottom of the laptop is the bottom, while the wrists and hands create each side. Ideally, the mouse pad should be in the middle of this triangle, with the edge of the hands barely touching the upper corners (if at all).

Manufacturers have begun to pick up on this problem, which is typically found on full laptop keyboards with the mouse pad built in directly below the space bar, and have implemented two solutions.

1) Putting the mouse pad slightly off-center to the left of the space bar.
2) Adding in a numeric keypad next to the keyboard. This forces the keyboard to move left and shrink, thereby setting the mouse pad off center while keeping it directly below the space bar.

Both are solid options, and make it far less likely for the mouse pad to mess up your work. However, I do have a bias for option #2 because:

a) I own a laptop with that layout
b) It makes no sense spending $20-$30 on a separate numeric pad, which is absolutely vital if you deal with numbers regularly.
c) It's more common to see this set-up nowadays.