# How does my laptop finger pad mouse thingy work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2007, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147 "2007-05-31T01:31:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/1 "2007-05-31T01:31:02Z")
I don’t even know what it’s called, so I don’t know how to search for an answer. I notice that I can’t use a pen or any other kind of stylus to move the on-screen cursor. (At least, not without pressing it way too hard for my comfort level.) It has to be my finger. How does it work? ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/2 "2007-05-31T01:53:01Z")
You stroke it. And then someplace there’ll be buttons that equal right click and left click. Their location varies per laptop. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/3 "2007-05-31T01:53:51Z")
Do you mean a touchpad? That is the little grey or black square just below the keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/4 "2007-05-31T01:56:38Z")
[How touchpads work](http://www.synaptics.com/technology/cps.cfm), with animation. > [@](#): > > Synaptics TouchPad devices work by sensing an electrical property called capacitance. Whenever two electrically conductive objects come near to each other without touching, their electric fields interact to form capacitance. The surface of a TouchPad sensor is an array of conductive metal electrodes, covered by a protective insulating layer. The human finger is also an electrical conductor, and when you place your finger on a TouchPad, a tiny capacitance forms between your finger and the metal electrodes in the TouchPad. The insulating layer protects the TouchPad sensor from wear by preventing your finger from actually touching the sensor, and is textured to help your finger move smoothly across the surface. > > The TouchPad sensor’s sensitive analog electronics measure the amount of capacitance in each of the electrodes. By sensing when the capacitance increases, the TouchPad can tell when your finger is touching. By measuring which electrodes have the most capacitance, the TouchPad can also locate your finger to an accuracy of better than 1/1000th of an inch. The capacitive sensing ASIC chip incorporates a proprietary microprocessor that computes the finger’s position and speed and reports them to the host computer in the form of cursor motion. > > On a PC, the TouchPad can work with any mouse driver, but it works best with the Synaptics TouchPad driver. When used with the Synaptics driver, the TouchPad reports not just the mouse-like motion of the finger, but also the absolute position of the finger on the TouchPad surface as well as the amount of finger pressure. The driver uses this extra information to enhance the user interface in a variety of ways. For example, if the finger moves up and down along the right-hand edge of the pad, the driver activates the patented Virtual Scrolling feature. > > In addition, a general purpose TouchPad Application Programming Interface (API) is available in the Customer Support-Developer’s Support section of the web site, which allows adaptation of our TouchPad into other products. The underlying capacitive technology in the TouchPad can be developed for a wide variety of devices, such as cell phones, MP3 players, PDAs, touchscreens, and remote controls. Synaptics capacitive sensing technology has been used to provide 2D cursor control, 1D scrolling functionality, and replace electrical switches in many types of electronic devices. > > Synaptics’ capacitive sensing technology has numerous advantages over competing technologies like membrane switches and resistive sensors. Its solid-state construction makes it extraordinarily rugged. And because our capacitive sensor is so versatile, it can be made extremely thin, lightweight, flexible, or even transparent. The proprietary microprocessor makes it possible to build custom capacitive solution for special applications. ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/5 "2007-05-31T04:41:22Z")
(Hijack) Is there any kind of stylus that could be used instead of your finger? I would really like that for drawing and painting without having to buy a tablet. ---
**Author:** ![Barrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Barrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrington)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/6 "2007-05-31T14:05:59Z")
My bedside light works on similar principles - you touch the base to switch it on or off. Once, I thought it was faulty, since it refused to come on when I tapped it with my right index finger as normal. That’s the finger I’d earlier cut accidentally in a bizarre gardening accident and bandaged up. Took a few seconds to realise. D’oh. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/7 "2007-05-31T15:14:49Z")
[QUOTE=Can Handle the Truth] (Hijack) Is there any kind of stylus that could be used instead of your finger? I would really like that for drawing and painting without having to buy a tablet. [/QUOTE] I guess anything soft and somewhat conductive would do - such as a sausage or carrot. Some types of rubber are conductive, so that might be more practical. But your overall goal of using the trackpad as a tablet will disappoint you. Tablets provide absolute positioning of the cursor - when you put the pen in the exact middle of the tablet, the cursor will always move to the exact middle of the screen. Trackpads, OTOH, provide relative positioning of the cursor - the cursor moves not because of _where your finger is_ on the pad, but rather, _how it’s moving_ - furthermore, they are often set up to respond in a very non-linear fashion - fast movements on the trackpad move the cursor further than slow movements over the same trackpad distance. Tablets aren’t that expensive anyway - even the really cheapie ones on eBay are pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/8 "2007-05-31T19:37:56Z")
Information on how a cursor moves… move your mouse in the circle or click in same. 😛 [http://www.1-click.jp/](http://www.1-click.jp/) ---
**Author:** ![skyee651](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@skyee651](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skyee651)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/9 "2011-05-04T17:02:41Z")
> [@Baffle](#): > > I don’t even know what it’s called, so I don’t know how to search for an answer. > > I notice that I can’t use a pen or any other kind of stylus to move the on-screen cursor. (At least, not without pressing it way too hard for my comfort level.) It has to be my finger. How does it work? Disabling laptop mouse pad , go to Control Panel \> Hardware and Sound , then under Devices and Printer click MOUSE. A window will appear about MOUSE PROPERTIES then click the “Finger Sensing Pad” tab .. Then click " Configure" On “Configure Item” on the left corner click the “Enable/Disable Pad” and under this you go to “USB MOUSE DETECTION” and check the box “Disable pad while external USB is plugged in” This setting is for Windows 7 ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/10 "2011-05-04T17:33:32Z")
> [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](#): > > (Hijack) Is there any kind of stylus that could be used instead of your finger? I would really like that for drawing and painting without having to buy a tablet. Thanks to the postings explaining how it works, I searched for “capacitive stylus.” Got this, as an example: [http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acapacitive%20stylus&page=1](http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acapacitive%20stylus&page=1) (Sorry to prolong the hijack.) ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/11 "2011-05-04T17:35:06Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > (Sorry to prolong the hijack.) I wouldn’t worry about it; it’s been almost 4 years, what’s another day? ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/12 "2011-05-04T17:40:10Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > I wouldn’t worry about it; it’s been almost 4 years, what’s another day? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/13 "2011-05-04T17:57:05Z")
let’s see if Baffle can recognize his old thread. Baffle do you still have that computer? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/14 "2011-05-04T20:54:03Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > let’s see if Baffle can recognize his old thread. Baffle do you still have that computer? And did you ever try using a sausage on your touchpad? ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/15 "2011-05-05T16:59:54Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > And did you ever try using a sausage on your touchpad? I don’t know about a sausage, but I just tried an orange, and it worked. Mr Potato Head does not work. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/16 "2011-05-05T17:07:42Z")
FWIW, my finger works on my sausage. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/17 "2011-05-05T17:16:09Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > I don’t know about a sausage, but I just tried an orange, and it worked. Mr Potato Head does not work. I just tried several different coins, and was very surprised to find that they did not work. Nor did a USB plug, which is certainly conductive. I guess that it knows how much capacitance to expect, and metallic objects are TOO conductive? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/18 "2011-05-05T17:17:40Z")
I recall reading somewhere that there’s a certain brand of cocktail suasages that saw an upsurge in sales in cold climates because smart-phone users discovered that they work particularly well on their touch screens, and thus they don’t have to remove their gloves to use the phones. No cite except my fuzzy memory, but I found that kind of interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/19 "2011-05-05T17:21:51Z")
Yuck! I don’t want to think about how greasy those screens got!!! ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147/20 "2011-05-05T18:58:28Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I recall reading somewhere that there’s a certain brand of cocktail suasages that saw an upsurge in sales in cold climates because smart-phone users discovered that they work particularly well on their touch screens, and thus they don’t have to remove their gloves to use the phones. > No cite except my fuzzy memory, but I found that kind of interesting. as luck would have it, as I read this I was eating a piece of cooked italian sausage. Yes, it works. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-laptop-finger-pad-mouse-thingy-work/406147.md?page=2)