- Laptop mouse pads, also called touch pads, are built-in devices for navigating the laptop's screen. The driver that powers the mouse pad comes pre-installed. For the mouse pad to work optimally, you need to update the driver occasionally by going to the laptop manufacturer's website and downloading any driver updates. The driver operates the mouse sensors, and driver differences from manufacturer to manufacturer explain why some laptop computers experience delays in mouse function while others respond very rapidly to finger movements on the mouse pad.
- Mouse pads or touch pads work by sensing your finger on the pad. Inside the machine, there are sensors that track the capacitance (that is, the electric potential between the fingers and the sensors) in fingers as they slide across the mouse pad. The mouse pad senses the fingers, and the cursor on the screen moves accordingly. According to WiseGeek, laptop touch pads will sense only fingers; using pencils or other objects will not work with the mouse pad. Changing the finger texture by wearing gloves or having dirty fingers may also cause malfunction in the mouse pad.
- As the fingers "walk" on the mouse pad, the pad reacts. If the finger moves fast, the cursor will respond accordingly. If the sensor senses a brief touch followed rapidly by another brief touch, it will understand this to be a double-click and will open the item. The relative motion aspect of the mouse means that the cursor will move in the same direction as the finger. It is possible to drag an item by clicking on the item and then holding down the finger and dragging the finger across the mouse pad. The item on the computer screen will follow. Some mouse pads are very sensitive to any vibration on the computer, so typing may interfere with mouse pad function. You can temporarily disable the mouse pad function by going to the Control Panel, selecting Mouse or Pointers, and choosing Disable. If you prefer an external mouse, you can leave the mouse pad disabled permanently.
