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Feb 27, 2017 Bootcamp. Windows 10 Home. MacBook Pro OSX 10.11.2. I am trying to disable the Trackpad in MS when I use a MS Mouse, vice-versa, but there isn't option in Control Panel/Mouse.' Disable trackpad when using an external mouse' I've done it in OSX and works well. Click the checkbox that says “Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is preset,” and you’re done. If an external mouse or trackpad is connected to your MacBook, the built-in trackpad will not work, but the second your external device is disconnected it will come to life again. This works for USB and Bluetooth devices alike.
Earlier this year, I talked about configuring Mac OS X to automatically disable the trackpad when a mouse is connected to the MacBook. This feature comes in handy for those users who always use a mouse and don’t want to use the built-in trackpad after connecting the mouse.
In Windows operating system, a graphical option to automatically turn off the touchpad when a mouse is connected can be found under Mouse Properties in Control Panel. In addition to that, if you’re running Windows 8.1 with the recently released August Update, you can now configure Windows 8.1 to automatically turn off the touchpad when a mouse is connected to your netbook or notebook right from PC settings.
If you’re using a notebook or netbook equipped with ELAN or Synaptics touchpad, an option labelled Disable internal pointing device when a mouse is connected should appear under Mouse Properties.
Following are the steps you need to follow in order to automatically disable touchpad when a mouse is connected in Windows 10, 8/8.1 and Windows 7.
Disable touchpad when mouse is connected in Windows
Method 1 of 4
For Windows 10
Step 1:Open Settings, click Devices icon and then click Mouse & touchpad.
Step 2: Under Touchpad section, turn off the option labelled Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected. Please note that the option might not appear in non-precision touchpads. Refer to our how to enable the precision touchpad on any Windows 10 laptop guide for more information.
Method 2 of 4
(This method should work fine on Windows 10, Windows 7, and Windows 8/8.1)
Step 1: Open the Control Panel by navigating to Start menu and then clicking Control Panel.
Step 2: Change the default View to Small icons. Look for the entry named Mouse and click on the same to open Mouse Properties.
Step 3: Switch to the ELAN or Device Settings tab and look for an option titled Disable when external USB pointing device plug in or Disable internal pointing device when external USB pointing device is attached. Check the same option and then click the Apply button. That’s it!
If the above option isn’t present and you’re laptop is using Synaptics touchpad, you can try out the given below instructions to see the above mentioned option.
Method 3 of 4
NOTE: We recommend you create a backup of Registry before changing default entries.
Step 1: Open Registry Editor. To do so, open Run command by simultaneously pressing Windows + R keys, type Regedit.exe in the field followed by enter key.
Click on the Yes button when you see the UAC prompt.
Step 2: In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARESynapticsSynTPEnh
Step 3: On the right-side, create a new DWORD value and rename it as DisableIntPDFeature. Finally, change its value to 33 (make sure that Hexdecimal is selected under Base section).
Step 4: Close the Registry Editor and reboot your PC to see Disable internal pointing device when external USB pointing device is connected option. Good luck!
Method 4 of 4
Disable touchpad when mouse is connected in Windows 8.1
Step 1: Open PC settings. To do so, move the mouse cursor to the upper or lower right corner of the screen to see the Charms bar, click Settings and then click Change PC settings option.
Step 2: On the left-pane of PC settings, click PC and devices, and then click Mouse and touchpad.
Step 3: Here, on the right-side, look for the option titled Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected and turn off the same to automatically turn off the touchpad when you connect a mouse to your Windows 8.1 notebook or netbook. That’s it!
Our how to disable the touchpad while typing in Windows 10 guide might also interest you.
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The touchpad or trackpad on a laptop keyboard is convenient to use when you're on the road or sitting in a tight space. Those tiny tables in coffee shops and airports don't leave a lot of room for a mouse to maneuver. But when you're in your own office, a mouse is a lot easier to work with – until your thumb grazes the touchpad and you accidentally select and delete a half-page from the report you're writing.
Fortunately, you can disable the touchpad on a Windows laptop, or the trackpad on a MacBook, very easily, provided you know where to look. If the operating system detects a mouse is connected to your laptop in the USB port, it will turn off the touchpad. When the mouse is disconnected, the touchpad will be turned on again automatically.
If you're using Linux, you'll likely be able to disable the trackpad too, if you're using the common Gnome Desktop for Ubuntu and other Linux distributions.
Windows: Disable Touchpad When Mouse is Connected
Windows 10 has settings specifically for a touchpad, which are independent of the mouse settings. To access the touchpad settings, of course, your Windows 10 computer, tablet or laptop must be connected to a keyboard with a touchpad.
If you have a Microsoft Surface, for example, or another device with a detachable keyboard, you won't see the touchpad settings if the keyboard isn't connected.
Open the Settings Window
Type 'Settings' in the Windows Start menu, and press Enter or click 'Settings' when it appears in the menu.
Open Touchpad Settings
In the Settings window, select 'Devices' and then click 'Touchpad' in the left menu.
Disable the Touchpad
Uncheck the box beside 'Leave touchpad on when mouse is connected.'
Now whenever a mouse is connected to your laptop, the keyboard touchpad is disabled.
You can close the Settings window. The next time a mouse is connected to your computer, the touchpad will be disabled.
MacBook: Disable Trackpad When Mouse Is Connected
Any Apple computer with a built-in trackpad includes a setting for disabling the trackpad, including MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
Open System Preferences
Click the 'Apple' menu in the upper-right corner of the screen, and select 'System Preferences' from the drop-down menu.
Open Mouse & Trackpad Settings
In the System Preferences window, click 'Accessibility' and then select 'Mouse & Trackpad,' located in the Interacting section on the left of the window.
Disable the Trackpad
Click the box beside 'Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present' to enable this option. This disables the trackpad immediately, so you can close the System Preferences window with your mouse.
Linux: Disable Touchpad When Mouse Is Connected
If you have Linux installed on your laptop, it's likely that you won't be able disable the touchpad when the mouse is connected until you install a utility that has this feature.
There is a feature available for Linux distributions using the GNOME desktop, including Ubuntu. Touchpad Indicator is available from Atareao-Team's Personal Package Archives, or PPA, on Launchpad.net.
Open Terminal
Open terminal from the application launcher or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on the keyboard and typing 'terminal.'
Access the PPA
Type 'sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao' in terminal; enter your password when prompted, and press Enter.
Install the Software
Type the following commands to first get the PPA updates and then to install the Touchpad Indicator:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install touchpad-indicator
Open Touchpad Indicator
After Touchpad Indicator is installed, launch the app. An applet icon appears in your system tray. Click on the applet. Click the 'Actions' tab and then click the 'On/Off' button beside 'Disable touchpad when mouse is plugged.'
Tip
If you don't like this utility, you can remove it by typing the following command in terminal: sudo apt-get remove --autoremove touchpad-indicator.
References (6)
About the Author
A published author and professional speaker, David Weedmark has advised businesses on technology, media and marketing for more than 20 years. He has taught computer science at Algonquin College, has started three successful businesses, and has written hundreds of articles for newspapers and magazines and online publications including About.com, Re/Max and American Express.
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Weedmark, David. 'How to Disable TouchPad While the USB Mouse Is Plugged in.' Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disable-touchpad-usb-mouse-plugged-52685.html. 24 April 2019.
Weedmark, David. (2019, April 24). How to Disable TouchPad While the USB Mouse Is Plugged in. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disable-touchpad-usb-mouse-plugged-52685.html
Weedmark, David. 'How to Disable TouchPad While the USB Mouse Is Plugged in' last modified April 24, 2019. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disable-touchpad-usb-mouse-plugged-52685.html
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