Lap top Question:

[Smarmie Doofus]

I can't believe this is uncommon.

OK: I have a loaner; ( probably for three mos now) a pc laptop . With a fingerpad..... divvied into Left and Right side functions.

OK... the pc is pretty good but I cannot abide the fingerpad the way it is. My "computer" fingers ( and hand) are the RIGHT FINGER and RIGHT HAND.

I keep having to cross over the nearly imperceptible dividing line to the LEFT SIDE of the pad with my RIGHT hand to execute 90% of my computer functions: highlighting, clicking links, cutting, pasting, etc. The movement of the RIGHT HAND across the median of the pad to the LEFT is an unnatural movement, results in much confusion and do-overs and it would make much more sense if the right sided of the pad controlled the most commonly used features of the pc.

Question: Am I alone in this?

Question 2. Am I crazeee?

Question 3: Is there any way to adjust the settings so that the RIGHT side of the pad will govern the features currently governed by the LEFT side of the pad? And vice versa?

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

1. I'm not familiar with that issue and...

...I find touchpads ANNOYING, so I use a mouse and deactivate the touchpad.
Do you like mice?

[Smarmie Doofus]

2. The advantage of a laptop.... to state the obvious... is its versatility.

One can flop on the couch, on the floor, take it to bed, quite literally.

A mouse requires a table and chair, no? Might as well have a desktop.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

3. One could opt for a lapdesk

This may also enhance the useful life of the laptop as many have air inlets on the bottom that tend to suck in more dust and lint when rested on fabric than on a hard surface and I seen things like pillows and blankets mostly block these altogether and overwork the fan.

YMMV, just my 2 cents.

[Phentex]

5. i use a wireless mouse right on the laptop next to the touchpad...

I hated the touchpad and kept bumping it and had the cursor going all over the place. So I deactivated it and use the mouse. No table or chair required and I take it everywhere.

[Smarmie Doofus]

8. Hmmm... That's an idea. Thanx. n/t

[Kali]

7. oh heck no!

I have used my mouse on my thigh, a couch arm, pillows, fold-down console in a truck, right on the mattress of a hospital bed...


I HATE the touchpad!!!

[Go Vols]

4. what brand and model?

[csziggy]

6. You may be able to swap the button functions

Not sure about on a laptop, but I know it can be done with mouse buttons - I did it when working lefthanded while recovering from surgery on my right hand.

I'm not on a laptop but for the mouse, you go to the Control Panel, look for the mouse option and on the Buttons tab check the "Switch primary and secondary buttons." See if that might work for your touchpad.

[Smarmie Doofus]

9. This is closer to what I'm looking for.

The external mouse thing is probably better than what I'm dealing w. now but I really would rather do without yet another device/cable/accessory to research/ purchase/ plug-in/ buy batteries for/ etc.

I'll see what I can turn up in the control panel. ( Assuming I can FIND the control panel. )

Seems to me a lof of people would want to do the "right click" functions... which are required relatively infrequently.... with their non -dominant ( usually LEFT) hand.

I don't quite understand why I'm struggling with this and the rest of the post-industrial age population is NOT.

[csziggy]

10. Which operating sytem are you using?

That would help us tell you how to find the control panel!

I tried to use the mouse lefthanded without swapping the buttons - it didn't work for me at all but swapping them made it much easier. Though when my husband needed to use my computer, he couldn't handle it at all and he grew up in a household of lefthanded people.

On the other hand, I have never been able to use the touchscreen on a laptop at all. I go straight for a mouse and hook that up!

[Smarmie Doofus]

11. Windows 7.

I found the control panel but haven't figured out for sure if this can be done yet. ( i.e invert left and right.)

I had a mac lap previously and the touchpad was ez.... mainly because there's no left-right. (Truth be told: I used it for three years and managed to avoid "right clicking" all that time. There's a way to do it but I was too lazy to learn.)

I should be in a cave somewhere.... roasting dinosaur meat for dinner.

[csziggy]

12. OK - try this

How do I change the touchpad settings on my computer in Windows 7?

It is sometimes beneficial to change the touchpad settings. Below are the steps you can take to change or adjust the settings of the touchpad in your computer.

Note: The touchpad drivers must be installed to access the Mouse Properties settings used for the touchpad.

To view or change the touchpad settings:

From the Windows 7® default Start menu, click Control Panel.
In Control Panel, click Hardware and Sound.

Note: If you do not see Hardware and Sound, in the upper left of the Control Panel window, use the drop down menu to select View by: Category.

In the Hardware and Sound window, click Mouse.
In the Mouse Properties window, click the Device Settings tab and then click the Settings button.
To modify a setting, click the + in front of the setting you want to change, and then modify the setting.
To save your changes, click Apply and then click OK to close the dialog box.

[Smarmie Doofus]

13. Thanks. But I don't see inverting the touchpad ( L and R) as an option there.

I think I'm going to just try to attach a mouse.

Wish me luck and thanks again.