HP Notebook PCs - Using the touchpad (Windows 11, 10)
A touchpad is a pointing device with a touch-sensitive surface located on the palm rest of the notebook. You can adjust the sensitivity of the touchpad, enable or disable the features and gestures, and change the functionality of the buttons.
About touchpads
Some touchpads have a touch-sensitive area bordered by two or more buttons that function like the left and right buttons on an external mouse. Other touchpads have unmarked areas for left and right clicking, instead of discrete buttons.
To right-click using a touchpad, press the bottom right corner. To left-click, tap anywhere on the touchpad, or press the bottom left corner.
Note:
Not all gestures are compatible with all products. For additional information, see the user guide for your computer.
Note:
HP recommends periodically checking for software, drivers, and system BIOS updates to ensure you get the maximum functionality out of your notebook and pointing device. See the HP document HP PCs - Downloading or updating software and drivers.
Example touchpad with discrete buttons
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Touchpad zone
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Left touchpad button
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Right touchpad button
Example touchpad with click zones
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Left-click zone
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Right-click zone
Use touchpad gestures
The touchpad helps you navigate the computer screen and control the pointer using simple touch gestures. You can also use the left and right touchpad buttons as you would use the corresponding buttons on an external mouse.
To customize gestures and see videos of how they work, select the Search icon in the taskbar, type control panel in the search box, select Control Panel, and then select Hardware and Sound. Under Devices and Printers, select Mouse.
Some products include a precision touchpad, which provides enhanced gesture functionality. To determine if you have a precision touchpad and find additional information, select Start, select Settings, select Bluetooth & devices, and then select Touchpad.
Tap
Point to an item on the screen, and then tap one finger on the touchpad zone to select the item. Double-tap an item to open it.
Two-finger pinch zoom
Use the two-finger pinch zoom to zoom out or in on images or text.
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Zoom out by placing two fingers apart on the touchpad zone and then moving your fingers together.
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Zoom in by placing two fingers together on the touchpad zone and then moving your fingers apart.
Two-finger slide
Place two fingers slightly apart on the touchpad zone and then drag them up, down, left, or right to move up, down, or sideways on a page or image.
Two-finger tap
Tap two fingers on the touchpad zone to open the options menu for the selected object.
Note:
The two-finger tap performs the same function as right-clicking with a mouse.
Three-finger tap
By default, the three-finger tap opens the taskbar search box. Tap three fingers on the touchpad zone to perform the gesture.
To change the function of this gesture on a precision touchpad, select Start, select Settings, select Bluetooth & devices, and then select Touchpad. Under Three-finger gestures, in the Taps box, select a gesture setting.
Four-finger tap
By default, the four-finger tap opens the Action Center. Tap four fingers on the touchpad zone to perform the gesture.
To change the function of this gesture on a precision touchpad, select Start, select Settings, select Bluetooth & devices, and then select Touchpad. Under Four-finger gestures, in the Taps box, select a gesture setting.
Three-finger swipe (touchpad and precision touchpad)
By default, the three-finger swipe switches between open apps and the desktop.
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Swipe 3 fingers away from you to see all open windows.
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Swipe 3 fingers toward you to show the desktop.
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Swipe 3 fingers left or right to switch between open windows.
To change the function of this gesture on a precision touchpad, select Start, select Settings, select Bluetooth & devices, and then select Touchpad. Under Three-finger gestures, in the Swipes box, select a gesture setting.
Four-finger swipe (precision touchpad)
By default, the four-finger swipe switches between open desktops.
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Swipe 4 fingers away from you to see all open windows.
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Swipe 4 fingers toward you to show the desktop.
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Swipe 4 fingers left or right to switch between desktops.
To change the function of this gesture, select Start, select Settings, select Bluetooth & devices, and then select Touchpad. Under Four-finger gestures, in the Swipes box, select a gesture setting.
Turn the touchpad off and then on
On some touchpads, you can turn the touchpad on or off by double tapping in the upper-left corner of the touchpad.
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Double-tap to turn the touchpad off.
Enable or disable the touchpad in Windows
Enable or disable the touchpad when an external USB mouse is connected to the computer. You can also configure the touchpad to be disabled automatically when an external mouse is connected.
Note:
If the option to enable or disable the touchpad is not available, download and install the latest touchpad driver from Windows Update. For more information, see HP PCs - Updating drivers using Windows update (Windows 11, 10).
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Click the Touchpad button to turn the touchpad off or on.
Note:To configure the touchpad to be disabled automatically when an external mouse is connected, ensure that the Touchpad button is set to On.
Note:If you are not using an external mouse, press the tab key repeatedly until the pointer rests on the touchpad button. Then, press the spacebar to select the button.
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To automatically disable the touchpad when an external mouse is connected to the computer, configure the setting using the instructions for your operating system.
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In Windows 11, click the arrow icon
to expand the Touchpad settings, and then clear the Leave the touchpad on when a mouse is connected check box.
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In Windows 10, clear the Leave the touchpad on when a mouse is connected check box.
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Adjust touchpad settings
Use these steps to adjust touchpad settings and gestures.
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Choose your settings.
You can adjust the following settings for the touchpad and gestures:
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Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected: Select whether to automatically disable the touchpad when an external mouse is connected to the computer.
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Change the cursor speed: Adjusts the speed of the cursor.
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Taps: Configure the touchpad sensitivity and enable or disable tap gestures.
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Scroll and zoom: Configure the scrolling direction and enable or disable the two-finger scroll and pinch zoom gestures.
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Three-finger gestures: Configure the three-finger swipe and tap gestures.
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Four-finger gestures: Configure the four-finger swipe and tap gestures.
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