Using the Touchpad

Using a touchpad is in many ways similar to using a mouse. You move your finger around the pad to move the pointer on screen. Tapping once on the pad will produce a left mouse click. Tapping once then pressing and holding will allow you to drag items or select areas of text or images. These functions can be turned on and off from Control Panel -> Mouse settings.

Due to the way touchpads work, it is important that only one finger touches it at a time. Having another finger resting in a corner of the pad will product unpredictable results. Some pads have an area to the side that can be designated a scroll bar, use the mouse options in Control Panel to configure touchpad behaviour.

Some newer models of notebook feature touchpads with areas assigned to particular functions such as scrolling windows or back and forward buttons while web browsing. In order to disable this, go to mouse options in Control Panel and disable touchpad gestures. Some systems refer to it by a different name such as 'touchpad scroll area'.