A laptop touchpad is a device that is built into laptop and notebook computers. The pad has functions that are similar or the same as an external mouse. It allows laptop users to work from the convenience of any small space. With the use of a touchpad users still have the control offered by using an external mouse for onscreen computer movements.

The movements that are offered by a laptop touchpad can also be completed through the use of several keystrokes; however, keystrokes can be time consuming and difficult to remember. As a result of the difficulty of keystrokes, the touchpad was created for laptop and notebook users. The first touchpads were created in the 1990s, and the technology of the laptop touchpad has been advancing since then.

As a pointing device a laptop touchpad is a relative motion device. Like all relative motion devices a notebook touchpad translates user movements. It is made specifically to sense the movement of a finger, and it will not sense the movements of other objects. A touchpad’s movements are shown on the computer screen through the motion of the cursor. In fact, the cursor will move at the same rate as the user’s finger moves on the laptop touchpad.

A touchpad can vary in size. It depends on the brand and model of the computer. Size is not the only factor that can vary on a pad. There are also accessories and extra features. Some laptop pads have buttons for left and right clicking, while others do not. Besides buttons a touchpad’s features can be different from model to model. A laptop pad can have a section for onscreen scrolling and other specialized movements.

The laptop touchpad was initially created as a substitute for an external mouse and mouse pad. However, today touchpads and external mouse devices are both used from notebook computers. Some users prefer an external mouse, and other users like the laptop touchpad. For the laptop users that desire an external mouse there are cordless infrared mice that do not require the use of a mouse pad.

Some touchpads can be overly sensitive, and they might interfere with a user’s typing. For these pads there are ways to temporarily disable them. One of the easiest ways to temporarily disable a laptop touchpad is by pressing a small button. It is usually located above the touchpad itself.