Pinch-Zoom gesture....

[alr2903]

...this article is how to disable the "pinch zoom gesture". Of course it is dated 2012. Ours was "enabled" I am sure there is a use for this among people with advanced skills. I found it extremely aggravating. A

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-disable-the-pinch-zoom-gesture-on-windows-laptops/

 

[frigilux]

iPad user, here. Apple's version of the pinch-zoom gesture works well for me most of the time. There is the occasional unintentional zoom, but it's easily corrected by touching screen with fingers apart, then sliding them together. I use the zoom feature frequently, as print or boxes to that need to be tapped are often so small it is much easier to read/tap accurately if zoomed.

My most frequent unintended gesture is this: I'll go to touch the screen with my index finger and dangling middle or fourth fingers touch the screen first, usually sending me off to an ad or another website. They place those ad boxes so strategically, don't they?

 

[cuffs054]

So that's what you are talking about! At first I thought I had zipped over to Dirty Laundry.

 

[alr2903]

Thanks Frigilux. I live with a I-PAD user and occasionally use his, I had no idea I was "pinch zooming" You are correct I am using a new to me laptop.

Cuffs I see your point. LOL

A

 

[kb0nes]

The best way to fix pinch-zoom gestures on a Windows laptop is to either ditch the touch pad and use a mouse or buy an Apple laptop... But by all means if the gestures are annoying disable them!

Personally I have NEVER once used a Windows touchpad on a laptop that I can stand. Even without raising the specter of multi-touch gestures, I always found them to be unusable. For years I did LOVE the IBM TrackPoint on my ThinkPad laptops though, it was the best Windows system mobile pointing device I've ever used. Of course a mouse is better then any of these for high accuracy and intuitive pointing, but it requires an extra surface.

A few years ago I bought a Mac after nearly 40 years of Apple bashing. Initially I used a mouse, but when I learned that the Apple Magic Trackpad had zoom and rotate gestures for photo editing I thought I'd give it a try. Well dang it I started using it and it is ALL I use now. Same thing applies to my Apple Laptops I have since added to the collection, they just feel like a natural extension of my hand. And they are far better then a touch screen that pulls you hand too far from the keyboard.

I still bash Apple for a variety of reasons and I will never fully migrate to their side. But I don't understand how Windows has just never managed to get the user interface to be as seamless as the other side. But at least some of the annoying features are configurable to suit!

 

[lordkenmore]

>Personally I have NEVER once used a Windows touchpad on a laptop that I can stand.

You aren't alone. I have read plenty of people are familiar both with Apple and Windows laptops who've basically said that the trackpad isn't very good on the Windows laptop. Perhaps this is not 100% of the time, of course. But I think it's been suggested that trackpad hardware quality might not be as good.

Of course, cheapness is probably nothing unique to trackpads on Windows laptops--face it, when making a $300 laptop, MacBook Pro build quality won't be happening.

I haven't owned a Windows laptop, but I've used them one way or another. The quality problem that I've really noted has been the keyboard. Many are so bad that they are almost unusable. I don't expect IBM M quality, and I don't necessarily mind having an external keyboard to use when writing something lengthy. However, on a laptop, I would want the keyboard to be good enough that I can use it for quick e-mail messages, and the like. So many keyboards are so bad I wouldn't want to use them for more than typing a web address. Indeed, at one point, when thinking "maybe get a laptop," I thought of a netbook. Keyboards on those were beyond awful...but so were the keyboards on all cheaper laptops. Why not just save a few dollars AND get something more portable since the keyboard was so awful that I'd be wanting to use an external keyboard, anyway, for anything more than typing a sentence or two?

 

[warmsecondrinse]

I've always found touchpads incredibly annoying, period. On Windows laptops what-kind-of-movement-does-what seem to change randomly. I'm sure there is a pattern, but it's beyond me. Right now I have a Lenovo x200s that's ancient by today's standards. 12" screen, FULL SIZED keyboard, and NO touchpad. There're the three mouse buttons and the trackpoint. I can use the trackpoint and buttons with one hand at the same time..... bliss!

Jim

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Lenovo-Thinkpad-X200s-Notebook.14531.0.html

 

[ea56]

When we bought our MacBook Pro 2 1/2 years ago to replace our 10 yr old iMac I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get along without a mouse, in fact I almost bought a wireless mouse before we left the Best Buy, but decided to give the touchpad a try first. Boy, I love the touchpad on the MacBook, I would never go back to a mouse. I had occasion to use an Asus laptop and the touchpad on it was way squirrelly, I hated it. I also have an iPad, and I love the touch screen and the pinch to zoom feature. The iPad is really handy and I find that I now use it most of the time. I have a case with a wireless keyboard and its just like a mini laptop.

 

[frigilux]

I've only ever owned/used Apple/Mac computers and other electronics at home and work. While many balk at the unique tactile experience Apple products provide, the price, and the perceived snobbery, I love 'em. They're great for people working in music/the arts and generally very reliable.

 

[cadman]

I'm with Phil on this one. The Apple trackpads are second to none. In fact at home all my circuit board layouts AND architectural CAD work is done without an external mouse.

When I'm at work, not a meeting goes by where people aren't breaking out wireless mice for even the simplest of tasks. It's all HP+Windows. Tracking is frustrating enough, let alone something like scrolling.

 

[jerrod6]

On Android you can use Pinch to zoom or expand you finger to zoom out, but also quick double tap.  I find I like double tap better.