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A pointing stick is a small joystick on some laptop keyboards used to move the cursor. It can be used instead of or in addition to a touchpad. It sits between the G and H keys and has left and right mouse buttons below the space bar. Typists prefer it because it saves time. Setting up sensitivity is important to avoid unintentional cursor movement. Cursor drift can occur, but it can be corrected manually or automatically. A “tap to select” feature is available, but it may cause unwanted clicks.
A pointing stick is a miniature isometric joystick built into the center of some laptop keyboards, used to move the cursor on the screen. It can be used instead of a mouse or in addition to it. The left and right mouse buttons are located directly below the space bar on models equipped with this toggle. The stick itself resembles the nub of an eraser and sits between the G and H keys on a QWERTY keyboard. Pointing sticks are included on small laptops that don’t have the space for a touchpad, but they can also be found on larger models that include a touchpad and on some desktop keyboards.
One advantage of using a pointing stick over a touchpad is that your fingers can remain on the main keyboard row while using the stick. Home row is where typists rest their fingers and many typists prefer a typist stick because of the time it saves. For this very reason, researcher and developer Ted Selker invented the device in 1984 and in 1987 IBM® marketed it as the TrackPoint.
Setting up a pointing stick is essential to streamline operations and minimize errors. Located in the center of the keyboard, it can easily be brushed, bumped, or accidentally tapped, especially by non-typists. If the sensitivity is set too low, this can cause continuous and unintentional cursor activity. Setting the sensitivity too high may require more pressure than is comfortable, leading to possible index finger stress, pain, or fatigue. If you don’t need the pointing stick, consider disabling it or selecting the least responsive setting to minimize accidental cursor movement.
Many users complain of cursor drift when using a pointing stick. When this occurs, the cursor continues to wander slightly after the user finishes manipulating the stick. Some software automatically detects cursor drift and recalibrates the pointing stick to correct it. In other cases the necessary calibration can be done manually using the configuration software.
Most software can also be used to enable a “tap to select” feature. In this case a flick of the stick emulates a mouse click. This option may only be appropriate for very precise typists, as accidentally tapping while typing will cause unwanted clicks.
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