Laptop Touchpad

[mockdeep]

Here's one that will make you cringe. I have been working on my laptop this weekend and I have been trying to get accustomed to using the touchpad for drafting. Sometimes it just seems like it is simpler to do it that way than to carry a mouse around and to always be searching for a decent surface to use it on. Does anybody else use the touchpad for drafting? I am having a particular problem. I've been trying to use the scroll bar on the touchpad to zoom in and out, but it only seems to work for a short while. It appears that it stops working if I use it in the middle of a command. Then it no longer works in other programs as well, I can no longer use it to scroll down web pages or folder lists either. Something I do eventually seems to trigger it to come back, but I haven't figured out what. Has anybody run into this problem?

[jaberwok]

I avoid the touchpad like the plague. I carry a small cordless optical mouse.

[dzatto]

I use a track ball. It takes a little getting used to, but intead of moving the mouse all around, I just use my thumb. Plus, you don't have to worry about what surface your mouse is on. You can even use it on your lap!

[Railrose]

I'd rather carry a mouse.

From what I've seen, you can go to the options & turn off the scroll bars on the sides of the drawing & that will stabilize the mouse wheel for zooming. It might help on the touch pad.

[cdatechguy]

I've also had to disable the touchpad because it conflicts with some mouse drivers, such as Logitech.

[mockdeep]

I use a track ball.

I actually have a trackball at home, but it is even bigger than a mouse and requires the cable and wireless receiver, which are an even greater inconvenience than just carrying a small mouse.

From what I've seen, you can go to the options & turn off the scroll bars on the sides of the drawing & that will stabilize the mouse wheel for zooming. It might help on the touch pad.

I have had the scroll bars turned off but it doesn't help. It's too bad that AutoCAD isn't better set up for using the touch pad. It seems like it would be appropriate considering the increasingly mobile state of today's architects. I do think it may not be so bad to use if not for that doggone zoom glitch. After a while I just have to resort to zoom commands to get where I need. Zoom Extents, Zoom Window, Zoom Previous and Pan. Even so, I'm getting pretty fast and it's nice to be able to work on a train without having to keep track of the bits and pieces and power cords I bring along.

[jaberwok]

.... It's too bad that AutoCAD isn't better set up for using the touch pad....

Hmm. It never really struck me as being an acad+touchpad thing...just a touchpad thing. I hate it just as much in Word and Explorer and Firefox.

[mockdeep]

I've gotten used to using it. When I'm at home I use it about half the time. It really all comes down to which hand I'm resting my chin on. It has even reached the point where I reach for the non-existent touch pad at my desktop computer at work. That and the media keys.

[robert.1.hall72202]

Using the touchpad for drafting would destroy the laptop.
A touchpad cannot take serious use or it will wear down the surface
until it is very shiny. Laptop users are expected to carry a mouse
for long term usage.

The laptop I am using has a button that allows me to disable the
touchpad. I do not have any mouse conflicts and I cannot accidentally
move the cursor while typing.

[dixon.82889]

The touchpad is a piece of junk, something that many people, NOT including me, have learned to tolerate. Back in the 90's, I had a laptop that had a built-in trackball where the touchpad would be today. That was a great pointing device, but not available today because touchpads are cheaper and have no moving parts, saving the necessity of periodic cleaning.

My current Dell Latitude has both a touchpad as well as a little joystick, best described as a "joynub," and I find that even that device outperforms the touchpad as long as the resolution is set up properly. The touchpad itself is turned off.

But I do carry a very small trackball with me. The Logitech Marble Mouse is what I use at home, but the mini thumb ball is perfect for travel, and can be held in the hand with no surface for use, with a little practice.