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A touchpad is a surface used to control cursor movement, with sensitivity adjustable in Control Panel. Palm sensitivity prevents unwanted movement, and tap zones can be assigned functions.
A touchpad is a touch-sensitive surface used in place of a traditional computer mouse to control cursor movement. Swiping a finger across a touchpad will direct the video cursor accordingly. Touchpad sensitivity refers to how much finger pressure must be applied before the pad responds. Touchpad sensitivity can be adjusted up or down to make the pad more sensitive or less sensitive to touch.
Most laptops have a touchpad built into the wrist. The touchpad might have two or three buttons below or above the pad to act as mouse buttons. Alternatively, you can tap the surface of the pad to initiate a click. Finding a satisfactory touchpad sensitivity setting will make using the touchpad easier and more comfortable.
On Windows® and Mac® systems, the software settings for the mouse or touchpad should be found in Control Panel. Some touchpad software also loads a touchpad icon in the system tray for quick access.
There may be more than one touchpad sensitivity setting. Some software allows you to set the overall sensitivity of the pad and also adjust the “palm sensitivity” or the touchpad’s ability to ignore accidental bumps that might occur while typing.
Overall Sensitivity adjusts how softly you can stroke the pad while still getting a response. A touchpad set for a light touch is more comfortable to use, but taken to an extreme setting can cause unpredictable cursor movement. If the humidity is high and the slider feels erratic, it may help to adjust the sensitivity towards a heavier touch. If your touchpad is missing taps and strokes, try adjusting the sensitivity toward a lighter touch.
Palm sensitivity is designed to prevent unwanted cursor movement caused by your palms. Adjusting this setting higher narrows the usable area of the touchpad inward toward the center. Taken to an extreme, this reduces the usefulness of the touchpad by causing it to miss swipes or taps that aren’t centered enough. Leaving this setting off or adjusting it too low, however, could cause erratic cursor movement.
In addition to sensitivity, you can set how close together the taps should be to emulate a double-click. If the cursor misses the double-tap, it could be that the taps are too close or too far apart for the touchpad to register as a double-tap, depending on the current setting. While testing this touchpad setting, an animated icon will respond to illustrate a successful double-click. Adjust the slider up or down to make sure the touchpad responds to your natural tapping style.
When you change the touchpad sensitivity, you can also enable tap zones, a feature available on many touchpads. Touch zones can be assigned special functions, so that touching a zone performs the assigned function. Up to four tap zones are available, one for each corner of the pad. By tapping in the upper left corner, for example, you can mute/unmute, maximize/minimize the screen or act as a third mouse button. Enabling touch zones can be very useful, saving keystrokes and improving efficiency.
