Laptop Touchpad Tip

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We had a training class Tuesday at work; the class was hands on using some Dell laptops. A few of us were constantly putting information in the wrong places, because we did not realize the touchpad was active, even though a mouse was attached.

This situation is very aggravating, so we asked the instructor how to disable the touchpad, but he did not know. One of the others said she was having the same problem with her personal laptop, and did not know how to disable it.

Today I saw an article in my RSS feed from PCMech, which is one of the feeds that is a high priority read for me, as I find information that is relevant to my PC usage there all the time.

The following is a quote from PCMech’s About page:

PCMech (formerly called PC Mechanic) is about computers and technology. We define “PC” a little more broadly. Yes, PC stands for personal computer. Much of our content is about personal computers. But, since we first launched, technology has evolved and now there is so much more to talk about than just computers. So, we cover technology. We cover the internet. We cover – yes – computers, hardware, software, etc.

Our job is to cover the fast-changing world of tech and help you apply it to improving your life. Technology shouldn’t be limited to the uber-geeks who follow this stuff 24/7. At PCMech, we’ll do that so you don’t have to.

The article is: Disable The Touchpad When A Mouse Is Plugged In.

My comment regarding the touchpad and mouse on my notebook is as follows:

My HP Pavilion TX1410us Entertainment Notebook PC also has a button right at the top of the touchpad, to disable/enable.

There is a Synaptics driver that controls both the touchpad and the mouse, but no way to configure to disable the pad when the mouse is plugged in, at least that I can see.

Retired, grandfather, blogger, participating in creative writing prompt blogs, and love to read.