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Enabling the touchpad and what useful settings are there to use it? Touchpad: how to set up a device on a laptop that replaces a physical mouse

Most laptops have a built-in touchpad, which in Windows 10 can be customized to your liking. It is also possible to use third party device for gesture control.

Enabling the touchpad

The touchpad is activated via the keyboard. But if this method does not work, then you will have to check the system settings.

Via keyboard

First of all, look at the icons on the F1, F2, F3, etc. keys. One of these buttons should be responsible for turning the touchpad on and off. If possible, review the instructions that came with the laptop; they usually describe the functions of the main shortcut keys.

Press hotkey to enable or disable the touchpad

On some models, key combinations are used: the Fn button + any button from the F list, which is responsible for turning the touchpad on and off. For example, Fn+F7, Fn+F9, Fn+F5, etc.

Press and hold the desired combination to enable or disable the touchpad

Some laptop models have separate button, located near the touchpad.

To enable or disable the touchpad, click on the dedicated button

To turn off the touchpad, press the button that turns it on again.

Through system settings

Video: how to enable/disable the touchpad on a laptop

Setting up gestures and sensitivity

The touchpad is configured through the built-in system parameters:


Popular gestures

The following gestures will allow you to completely replace all mouse functions with touchpad capabilities:

  • page scrolling - swipe up or down with two fingers;

    Use two fingers to scroll up or down

  • moving the page to the right and left - swipe with two fingers in the desired direction;

    Use two fingers to move left or right

  • Calling the context menu (analogous to the right mouse button) - press with two fingers at the same time;

    Press with two fingers on the touchpad

  • calling a menu with all running programs (analogous to Alt+Tab) - swipe up with three fingers;

    Swipe up with three fingers to open the application list

  • closing the list running programs- swipe down with three fingers;
  • minimizing all windows - swipe down with three fingers when windows are maximized;
  • system call search string or voice assistant, if it is available and turned on, press with three fingers at the same time;

    Three-finger tap to search

  • Changing the scale - swipe two fingers in opposite or identical directions.

    Zoom via touchpad

Solving touchpad problems

The touchpad may not work for the following reasons:

  • the virus blocks the operation of the touchpad;
  • touchpad is disabled in BIOS settings;
  • device drivers are damaged, outdated or missing;
  • The physical part of the touchpad is damaged.

The first three points above can be corrected yourself.

Elimination physical damage It's better to trust the experts technical center. Please note that if you decide to open the laptop yourself to repair the touchpad, the warranty will no longer be valid. In any case, it is recommended to immediately contact specialized centers.

Removing viruses

Launch the antivirus installed on your computer and enable full scan. Remove any viruses found, reboot your device and check if the touchpad works. If not, then there are two options: the touchpad does not work for other reasons, or the virus has managed to harm the files responsible for the operation of the touchpad. In the second case, you need to reinstall the drivers, and if this does not help, then reinstall the system.

Reinstalling and updating drivers

Video: what to do if the touchpad does not work

What to do if nothing helps

If none of the above methods did not help fix the problem with the touchpad, then there are two options left: damaged system files or the physical component of the touchpad. In the first case, you need to reinstall the system, in the second, you need to take the laptop to a workshop.

The touchpad is a convenient alternative to the mouse, especially when all possible gestures have been learned quick control. The touchpad can be enabled or disabled through the keyboard and system settings. If the touchpad stops working, remove viruses, check the BIOS and drivers, reinstall the system, or have the laptop repaired.

The touchpad is a touch pad that works like a mouse in desktop computer. At first, many users are distrustful of this part of the laptop, as it seems inconvenient. In fact, it’s all just a matter of time - with prolonged use, the touchpad becomes no less comfortable than a mouse.

When using a laptop computer, it is not always possible to use an external mouse

Another thing is that not always when turned on Touchpad works and responds to touches, so you should know how to turn it on and if you configure it for the most convenient use. Let's figure out how to enable the touchpad on a laptop and change its settings.

How to enable the touchpad?

There are several ways to enable the touchpad:

  • On many modern laptops There is a small indentation right next to the touchpad - use it to turn the touchpad on or off. If you do not have such a recessed button, use the following method.

  • Every laptop has function key Fn, which is used to execute different tasks when you press it with the buttons of the row from F1 to F12. One of them is specially designated for launching the touchpad and most often it has a corresponding mark. Therefore, try pressing Fn from one of the keys in this row, or use each of them in turn.

  • Perhaps the touchpad is disabled in the system itself, and it needs to be activated through the BIOS - go to the menu when starting the laptop or rebooting it, find the Pointing Device section, where the device will be indicated. To enable it, you need to select the Enable option, to turn it off - Disable. Don’t forget to save the changes by selecting F10 or another combination that has the Save and Exit option next to it.

If all the above steps did not produce results, it is worth checking if everything is ok with the drivers - perhaps they are out of date. To do this, do the following:

  • Through Start, go to the Control Panel menu and select Device Manager.
  • Find the Mouse section, the touchpad line and view the hardware properties - if the drivers are outdated or do not work (this happens after replacing the operating system), this will be indicated in the window that appears.
  • If there is something wrong with the drivers and they need to be updated or reinstalled, the computer will do it itself, or you can necessary files on the Internet and specify the path to them in the equipment properties.

If you cannot enable the touchpad via operating system, key combinations, BIOS, most likely the issue is a hardware malfunction - in such a situation you will have to take the laptop for repair.

Setting up the touchpad

In addition to the fact that this part can be turned on or off, the touchpad can be configured so that it is most convenient for you to use it at work or at leisure. Let's figure out how you can change its settings.

So, to change the touchpad operation parameters, you should follow these steps:

  • Go through Start to Control Panel.
  • Select Device Manager and Mouse section.
  • Open the line with the name of the touchpad, select properties and in the window that appears, under the name of the equipment, click on parameters.

What settings might be useful for you? Please pay attention to the following parameters:

  • You can enable or disable scrolling, activate the ChiralMotion function, which allows you to scroll through pages not only from top to bottom, but also in a circular motion - this is convenient if you are scrolling a long document or site.

  • Modern laptop models support multi-touch, which allows you to work with the touchpad with not one, but several touches, which expands its functionality - you can also activate this tool here, in the device settings.
  • One of the most important tools is sensitivity, which can be adjusted based on criteria such as random touches and finger typing. For example, if you constantly touch the touchpad when typing and it reacts, you should lower the scale in the Palm Touch Control parameter. If you want the touchpad to be less or more responsive to finger input, select Touch sensitivity.

  • In some cases, if you still constantly touch the touchpad when typing, you can activate its locking when using the keyboard - this way you will be sure that the cursor will remain in its place and will not scroll the page while you are entering text or press individual buttons.
  • Additionally, the speed of cursor movement, the area of ​​pressure on different parts of the touchpad, and the scrolling speed can be adjusted.

As you can see, the touchpad is different from what users are used to desktop computers mice may be well suited to your needs. Now you know how to enable the touchpad using several methods and configure its settings.

A properly configured touchpad on a laptop opens up the possibility of additional functionality that can greatly simplify the work of the device. Most users prefer a mouse as a control device, but it may not be at hand. The capabilities of the modern TouchPad are very high, and they practically do not lag behind modern computer mice.

Setting up the touchpad

  1. Open the menu "Start" and go to "Control Panel".

  2. If the value in the upper right corner is "View: Category", change to "View: Large icons» . This will allow us to quickly find the subsection we need.

  3. Go to the subsection "Mouse".

  4. In the panel "Properties: Mouse" go to "Device Settings". IN this menu You can set the option to display the touchpad icon on the panel next to the time and date display.

  5. Let's go to "Parameters(S)", the touch hardware settings will open.
    IN various laptops sensor devices are installed different developers, and therefore the functionality of the settings may differ. IN in this example laptop with touchpad presented from Synaptics. There is a fairly extensive list of customizable parameters. Let's look at the most useful elements.

  6. Go to the section "Scroll", here you can set the parameters for scrolling windows using the touchpad. Scrolling is possible either with 2 fingers in any part of the touch device, or with 1 finger, but on a specific part of the touchpad surface. The list of options has extremely interesting meanings "ChiralMotion Scrolling". This functionality is extremely useful if you scroll through documents or sites containing a huge number of elements. Scrolling the page occurs with one finger movement up or down, which ends with a circular movement counterclockwise or clockwise. This significantly speeds up the work.

  7. Custom Element Subgroup "Scroll area" makes it possible to determine scrolling areas with one finger. Narrowing or expanding occurs by dragging the boundaries of areas.

  8. A large number of touch devices use features called multi-touch. It allows you to perform certain actions using several fingers at the same time. Multitouch has gained the greatest popularity in use due to the ability to change the scale of the window with two fingers, moving them away or bringing them closer. You need to connect the parameter "Pinch zoom", and, if required, determine the scaling factors that are responsible for how quickly the window scales in response to finger movements in the scaling area.

  9. Tab "Sensitivity" is divided into two aspects: "Palm Touch Control" And "Touch sensitivity"

    By adjusting the sensitivity of unintentional palm touches, it becomes possible to block accidental palm presses. touch device. It can be very helpful when writing a document on the keyboard.


    By adjusting touch sensitivity, the user himself determines what degree of finger pressure will cause the touch device to react.

All settings are purely individual, so configure the touchpad so that it is convenient for you to use personally.

Correctly setting up the touchpad is the key to convenience when working on a laptop when you forget your mouse, it breaks down, or the battery runs out. Not all users know about some touchpad functions that exceed the capabilities of a classic manipulator. Setting up this device is nothing supernatural, but without preliminary configuration, working on a laptop or netbook is not entirely comfortable. To increase the efficiency of the manipulator on Windows 8-10, there are several options, which we will focus on today.

Configuring the TouchPad

Setting up the touchpad is done in a section of the control panel called "Mouse".

  • Call the “Control Panel” and go to the previously mentioned applet.
  • Switch to the “Device Settings” tab, which will appear only on a laptop with G8 or Windows 10 installed.

Here the user is immediately able to select a method for visualizing the touchpad icon in the panel Windows tasks 10:

  • hide the device icon;
  • display a fixed icon;
  • show an animated touchpad icon.
  • By clicking on the “Options (S)” button, we will get to the touchpad settings menu.

Important! On laptop models from various manufacturers The configuration window and the list of provided features may differ depending on the to a large extent, so let’s look at the most common settings supported by all touchpads.

The “Scrolling” section allows you to change the parameters for scrolling lines and turning pages of documents using the touch pad. Depending on the device model and its driver version, scrolling options are available using two fingers or one, and you can specify the area of ​​the sensitive element responsible for scrolling.

For example, the driver developer for our touchpad on Windows 10 added such a function for scrolling pages multi-page documents, and after swiping vertically, you can make movements counterclockwise or behind its course, documents are flipped one page forward or backward.

Options called Scroll Area in Windows 8 and 10 provide the ability to scroll with one finger in a specified area and adjust the scroll area by simply moving its borders.

Nowadays, it is almost impossible to find a touchpad that does not support multi-touch functions - reading several simultaneous touches. Using the feature on a Windows 10 laptop to scale text documents or graphics, including three-dimensional ones, and is called “Pinch Scaling”. Its settings allow you to set the scaling speed.

An important point when setting up the touchpad is its sensitivity to finger pressure. Correct configuration The sensitivity of the pointing device will prevent it from triggering during accidental touches of the touchpad, for example, when typing. The algorithms fine-tuned by the developers almost accurately detect accidental touches, the palm placed on the sensitive panel and targeted clicks.

Touch sensitivity is a parameter that allows you to adjust the threshold pressure, exceeding which when pressed will trigger the touchpad. At large values parameter, you will have to make a slight effort for the sensor to react to the touch of a finger.

However, the developer of any touchpad and drivers for it offers a huge range of functions that allow you to configure the manipulator for the most comfortable work behind the laptop under Windows control 10, including all kinds of gestures for performing simple operations.

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Many laptop users sometimes encounter the problem of the touchpad not working. It suddenly turns off and does not respond to any touches. As a result, you cannot control the cursor unless you have a detachable mouse. What to do in this case? How can I get my touchpad working again?

What is a touchpad

You can move the arrow-shaped pointer on the screen of desktop computers only with the mouse. A portable PC (laptop) is, however, equipped with another control device - a non-removable touch panel. Its other name is touchpad from the English word touchpad.

The touchpad is rectangular in shape, often with rounded edges, and is located under the keyboard on a laptop. At the bottom of the touchpad there are always two buttons, similar to the keys of a regular computer mouse.

The touchpad on a laptop is located under the keyboard and looks like a rectangle

The arrow is controlled by different types touching, tapping and finger movements. As a result, the PC user performs actions on the computer that would seem impossible to perform without a mouse: launching utilities, folders, menus and services; work in the programs themselves; closing them and turning off the PC.

Standard methods for activating the touchpad on a Windows 10 laptop

As a rule, the touchpad is disabled and enabled by two using standard methods: using a combination of certain keys and through the “Control Panel”. There are also separate utilities from the laptop manufacturers themselves, with which you can enable, disable and configure the touchpad.

Using the keyboard

Activate touch keyboard, if it suddenly turns off and does not work, you can use special combination keys, which, unfortunately, depends on the laptop manufacturer. There is no single combination.

This combination necessarily includes the Fn button. It is usually located to the left of Windows buttons, which launches the system Start menu. The second key is one of function buttons: F1 to F12. You can identify a button using an icon drawn on it in the form of a panel, which can also be crossed out. For example, for Sony devices made the combination Fn + F1.


 The button for turning the touchpad on and off usually has an icon in the form of a crossed out touchpad.

Let's present a few more manufacturer matches and combinations:

  1. For Asus there are two options: Fn+F9 or Fn+F7.
  2. For Lenovo - Fn+F8 or Fn+F5.
  3. For Acer - Fn+F7.
  4. For Dell use Fn+F5.
  5. In Toshiba - Fn+F5.
  6. For Samsung they also use the Fn+F5 combination.

On laptop computers from HP there is usually a button in the left corner of the touchpad that turns the touchpad on and off. To activate, you just need to double tap.

Using the Control Panel

Your touchpad may turn off when connected to your computer removable device“Mouse” with the corresponding parameter activated in the system settings. How can I disable this setting and enable the touchpad?

  1. By using system menu“Start” opens the “Control Panel” window on the screen. Open Control Panel from the Start menu
  2. In the list of main blocks, click on “Hardware and Sound”.
    Launch one of the main sections called “Hardware and Sound”
  3. We draw your attention immediately to the links in the first section “Devices and Printers”. We need a "Mouse". Click on it once with the left button.
    Click on the "Devices and Printers" section
  4. Now we switch directly to the ClicPad or ELAN tab, depending on the model of your laptop. Another possible name for the section is “Device Settings”. Click on the “Activate device” button
  5. In the tab, click on “Activate device”. Uncheck the “Disable when connecting an external USB mouse” item.

In the standard program from the manufacturer

Laptop manufacturers, for example, Dell and ASUS, often release their own software with which you can enable and configure the touchpad. For ASUS this utility is called Smart Gesture. Usually it is already preinstalled. You just need to launch it, and in it you can already disable the functions of deactivating the touchpad with connecting a mouse.


What to do if the touchpad still doesn't work

Pressing certain keys on the laptop keyboard and configuring it in the Control Panel often does not solve the problem of the touchpad being turned off. In such cases, you need to update the touchpad driver or enable it using BIOS menu. If these two methods do not work, you need to scan your PC for malware. It is also possible that the touchpad is physically damaged.

Installing or updating the driver

In many cases, reinstalling or updating the touchpad drivers in the Device Manager window will help reactivate it. What exactly needs to be done?

  1. Click right key mouse on the “Start” button located in the lower left corner of the screen. In the list of services, we select “Device Manager”. Open Device Manager through the Start context menu
  2. In the window that opens, look for the “Mice and other pointing devices” object. Expanding this point double click and click on the corresponding equipment with the right mouse button. Select "Update Driver".
    Click on "Update Driver" in context menu devices
  3. In the new window, click on the link “ Automatic search updated drivers."
    Click on the link “Automatically search for updated drivers”
  4. Wait for the search process to complete.
    Wait for the end of the search for driver updates
  5. If an update is found, the system itself will download and install it. If available updates will not be, a message will appear in the window stating that all necessary updates.
    The system may not find driver updates
  6. If you want to reinstall it, click on “Remove device”. There is no need to worry: we will immediately return it to its place, but in an updated state. To do this on top panel Click on the “Action” section, and then on the first object “Update hardware configuration”.
    Click on “Update hardware configuration” in the “Action” section

Setting in BIOS

BIOS is a set of specific microprograms necessary for the operation of the PC hardware and devices connected to it. This menu loads separately from Windows. All changes to it must be made very carefully, with knowledge of the matter, since incorrect settings may cause your PC to malfunction.

The touchpad may simply be disabled in the BIOS menu. If all previous methods activation did not help you, use the following instructions:


Checking for viral activity

The touchpad may not respond to touches if there is malware on the computer that blocks its operation. In this case, you need to use the antivirus that is installed on your PC. Each antivirus has its own interface, but, as a rule, it is easy to understand even for a beginner. In particular, you need to find the partition to scan the system. Let's consider step by step instructions using Avast as an example:


Check for physical damage

If all of the above methods do not solve the problem of a disabled touchpad, it may be that the touchpad is physically unable to work due to a breakdown. In this case, you need to replace the touchpad or repair it. To diagnose and fix the problem, you need to take your laptop to a computer repair service.

If your laptop was recently disassembled and cleaned, your touchpad may have stopped working because the touchpad connector was not put back into the socket. If you connect it, the touchpad will work. The service center will also help you in this matter.

Method for touch screen device

There are so-called hybrid laptops: it is also a tablet with touch display, and a laptop with a regular keyboard. If this is your case, your touchpad may not want to work due to a service conflict touch screen and a touchpad for cursor control.

In this case, you need to forcefully turn off the touch screen service in the Task Manager.

Video: how to activate the touchpad on Windows 10 using several methods

Setting gestures and touchpad sensitivity on a Windows 10 laptop

How to customize the touchpad on a laptop after turning it on? How to increase or decrease sensitivity and enable certain gestures?

  1. In the “Properties: Mouse” window, launch one of the possible tabs: ClicPad, ELAN or “Device Options”. To do this, use the instructions from the “Using the Control Panel” section of this article.
  2. To go to the touchpad settings, click on the “Options” or “Options” button next to the on and off keys. Click on the “Options” button
  3. Laptops can have touchpads different manufacturers, so the settings menu may vary. However, they usually offer the same parameters to change. Each of them is described in detail in the window, so even a beginner can configure the touchpad. Let's look at the setup using the Synaptics touchpad as an example.
    The Properties window for Synaptics has several sections where you can configure commands to control
  4. First, let's adjust the sensitivity. Open one of the main sections on the left side of the window called "Indication". Now click on the first item “Sensitivity” - two blocks will appear. In the first parameter “Palm Touch Control” you can set minimum level, moving the slider if you often accidentally touch the touchpad so that it doesn't respond to accidental touches as a result.
    Adjust the Palm Touch Control level
  5. In the second block “Touch sensitivity”, adjust the amount of pressure on the touchpad that it will perceive and, as a result, command the system to perform certain actions. You can move the slider to the “Very strong pressure” value if your touchpad is very sensitive and responds to even slight friction.
    Set the desired touch sensitivity level using the slider
  6. You can configure the gestures that the touchpad will perceive in such sections as “Scrolling”, “Tap” and “Application Gestures”. In the first section, you can enable options for scrolling the page with one or two fingers, or pinch zooming. In the Gestures section, you can activate the rotation command, three-finger swipe and click.
    Set the required gestures in the "Scrolling" and "App Gestures" section
  7. In each changed section, you must click on the “Apply” button to save all changes.
  8. If you want to return all settings to their original values, click on one of the buttons: “Standard”, “Restore all settings to default” or “Default settings” depending on the manufacturer of your touchpad and laptop.

It is quite easy to return the touchpad to functionality: you can simply hold down a certain key combination or activate the function through the “Control Panel”. If the problem is not solved, you need to update the drivers and make sure that the touchpad is included in BIOS settings. If none of the methods work, check your PC for viruses and take your laptop to a computer repair service. Your touchpad may need to be repaired or replaced if it is faulty.