How to use the touchpad on an acer laptop. Touchpad on a laptop

Each laptop is equipped with a special field for manipulation, which is called a touchpad. In fact, this module replaces the physical mouse, which is not always possible to use. And so, by sliding your finger across the surface, you can easily perform any action. This article will tell you about what a touchpad is, how to set it up on a laptop so that working with your computer is as comfortable and efficient as possible.

How does the touchpad work?

So, outwardly, we perceive the virtual pointer as a field with two keys, highlighted on the panel under the keyboard of our laptop. In fact, this control area is not distinguished by anything special, except for some symbols or frames (in some cases).

At the same time, from the very beginning, we understand how the touchpad functions. How to set up its well-coordinated work on a laptop, we also often do not think, because after starting the computer everything functions at the proper level.

The logic of the device is also extremely simple - the finger that moves on its surface corresponds to the direction of the cursor movement on the screen. In addition, there are other possibilities, such as recognizing multiple touches at the same time. To get acquainted with them, however, is not important.

How do I enable the touchpad?

Since the field for cursor control is located directly under the keyboard, it is natural that the user can accidentally touch it. This is unpleasant, especially when or watching a movie, and the cursor is constantly changing its location. To prevent this, a function to disable the touchpad has been developed.

This is done either with the help of a separate button placed on the surface of the laptop, or using the "hot" Fn keys and the one that is responsible for the operation of the module. If you see that your touchpad does not react to anything, you don’t know how to turn it on - try the indicated options, one of them will definitely work. Remember that the procedure for activating a virtual mouse is the same as disabling it.

Customizing the touchpad

Most often, the touchpad works in normal mode on the computer. As a rule, no one thinks about how to set it up on a laptop. In this case, situations occur when the cursor does not move, and the user does not understand why this is happening. In this case, you need special program for the touchpad. Simply put, we are talking about a driver that will establish "contact" between your software and coordinate their work. Let's just say if your laptop was originally offered with operating system, which did not contain the specified drivers, they will need to be installed "from above". This is done from the official website of the company that released your laptop.

Other problems

Of course, there may be other reasons why the touchpad stopped working (not related to drivers). To understand the situation and establish them, you need to spend more time studying. First of all, experts recommend starting with the "Properties" of such a module as "Mouse" (and in our case it is a touchpad). How to configure it on a laptop is another matter: you need to go to the "Control Panel", to the "Mouse" tab, where in the "Device Settings" submenu you can edit the settings of your virtual mouse module.

The variety of available options depends solely on how sophisticated your laptop is and, accordingly, the touchpad installed on it. For example, on newer models of computers there is a "multitouch" function (the ability to read several touches at the same time), as well as the ability to turn pages while reading in a simplified scheme. All these and other options are available in this section, you can customize them to ensure comfortable work. Here you can also determine whether the device is physically connected and whether it is accessible. Perhaps, if your touchpad does not respond to commands, this tab will describe the cause of this problem.

Alternative to the virtual mouse

Just because you have a laptop doesn't mean you have to use a touchpad. How to turn on the physical mouse is described in many instructions, despite the fact that this procedure is quite simple. All you need is to purchase a mouse that you like more in terms of its appearance and capabilities, as well as connect it to the USB port of your computer. Next, your pointer will either function normally without unnecessary problems, or you will need to install an additional driver package. After that, you can start working.

In fact, whether it is worth using a mouse or using a touchpad depends solely on the user. This is a purely individual matter. There are different categories of operations that we carry out with our computer: normal use, work in online games. Each of them implies a certain set of actions that need to be performed: if the touchpad is enough to work in the browser, then playing your favorite Counter-Strike game without a mouse, of course, will be very difficult.

A touchpad is a touch pad designed to control the mouse cursor on a computer (laptop). By its properties, the touchpad acts as an ordinary computer mouse.

The touchpad has a low resolution, which makes it difficult to work where more precise movements are needed (for example, in graphic editors), however, it has many advantages:
-reliability due to the lack of moving parts;
-controlling the cursor using the touchpad does not require special skills and getting used to;
-the presence of a flat surface and large space is completely unnecessary;
-Small finger movement makes it possible to move the cursor around the screen;
-using one touchpad, you can simulate pressing the left and right mouse buttons;

The touchpads are mainly installed on laptops, because take up little space and are easy to use. On most laptops, it sits under the keyboard and is a small, flat rectangle.

Typically, touchpads are small and do not exceed 50 square centimeters, however, there are touchpads that exceed these dimensions. Such touchpads are used in payment and information terminals, as well as in special control systems. Several interfaces are used to connect the touchpad to a computer: USB, RS-232, PS / 2. Apple computers use the ADB interface. There are also wireless touchpads.

The principle of operation of the touchpad is based on measuring the capacitance between built-in sensors or measuring the capacitance of a finger. The sensors are located both on the vertical and horizontal axes of the touchpad, which makes it possible to accurately determine the position of the finger and bring the cursor to the desired place. Because the touchpad works according to the principle of measuring capacitance, then when you touch it with a non-conductive object (for example, a pen or pencil), the touchpad will not work. Also, the touchpad does not work with very small contact areas.

The touchpad is not whimsical in work and does not require any special maintenance. Occasionally, about once every six months, it is recommended to check the touchpad for accuracy of movements and if the accuracy deteriorates (movements are more abrupt or abrupt), clean the touchpad. The touchpads are very well protected from dust and moisture (including water), as well as from foreign objects getting inside the touchpad. The touchpad is very reliable and rarely breaks, it is very rare that a new touchpad breaks down within five years.

In most cases, no special driver is required for the touchpad to work. When connected to a computer, it is recognized as an ordinary "mouse", and when using the USB interface, it can be connected and disconnected "hot" ie. no computer shutdown is required.

When buying a laptop, it is assumed that it will be used in various conditions where using a mouse is inconvenient and sometimes impossible (for example, on a train or in a car. Therefore, when choosing a laptop, you should pay great attention to the touchpad. Let's look at a few simple rules regarding the touchpad. which you need to be guided by when choosing a laptop:
-The touchpad should be positioned so that you do not touch it when performing other operations (for example, when pressing buttons on the keyboard). It is usually located in the center of the keyboard below the buttons.
-The larger the touchpad, the better, but it shouldn't get in the way when you press the keyboard buttons.
-The touchpad must be protected from accidental contact. Usually it is slightly recessed into the laptop case.
-Also look out for the mouse control buttons. They should be comfortable and easy to press.

Instead of a mouse in a laptop, a special touchpad with buttons - a touchpad - can be used. Some manufacturers call it a trackpad. The touchpad is used to control the cursor by moving your finger across its surface. Square touchpad on laptop usually is in the range of 40-60 sq. centimeters, the shape is rectangular, but sometimes it is round.

How the touchpad works is to measure the capacitance between the sensor plate and the finger. Capacitive sensors are located vertically and horizontally and make it possible to determine the position of the finger with sufficient accuracy. For normal work touchpad on laptop a certain area of ​​contact is needed, so if the touchpad is lightly touched with your finger, it will not work correctly. The touchpad will not work even if you operate any non-conductive object (for example, the end of a pencil). The touchpads have a rather low accuracy, sufficient only for viewing documents, web pages, and allow you to play simple logic games. They are difficult to use in complex graphics applications or fast-paced online games.

The advantages of the touchpad are:

- no need for a flat surface, like for a mouse, because touchpad on laptop itself is such a surface;

- the location of the touchpad is always fixed relative ;

- to move the cursor across the entire screen, a small movement of your finger is enough;

- using the touchpad, without touching the buttons, you can perform the manipulations of the left mouse button:

- short touch - click the button;

- double short - double click;

- double tap without releasing with further movement - selection or movement of an object;

- The vertical bar on the right of the touchpad and the top (bottom) bar are sometimes used for vertical and horizontal scrolling.

Some laptop touchpads (Synaptics, Asus, Apple) can function as a right mouse button and wheel, such as:

- click right click- short touch with two (sometimes three) fingers;

- scrolling - pressing with two fingers and moving;

- flipping - touching in motion with three fingers from left to right or from right to left;

- zooming in on the image - bringing two fingers together or apart on a plane.

Some typical finger movements are shown in the figures.

For details, see the description of a specific model, usually included with the notebook as a user manual file.

Some laptop models can use four-finger movements.

Enabling / disabling the touchpad is usually done by the Fn key combination and or there may be a dedicated touchpad button (some Acer models). You can have the touchpad disabled when you turn on the USB mouse. To do this, go to "My Computer" / "Properties" / "Device Manager" / "Mice and other pointing devices" - disable. Or another option - Start button / Control Panel / Mouse / Device Settings / Enable / Disable touch pad"- disable. There are also several more specific enable / disable options. touchpad on laptop, but in my opinion they are unnecessary and impractical.