E14 : Trackpad Discussion Only

hmmm...
possible but the holding thing is a bit dangerous. a bug would make those buttons never get unpressed, which would be interesting for the user.

i also would not want to try to make a UI for that.

i reproduced a left click where drag doesn't move. as far as i can tell, its not my app that does this. i can make this happen with no applications running and just the synaptics control panel. i can only make this happen if i hold the button a certain way though.

 

I was wondering if anyone else had this problem. Its strange it happens, because synaptics is definitely still recognizing the left click and also the movement of the second finger because I see it in the moodpad.

 

i never knew what this mood pad thing is, interesting.

anyway, it does seem to register in the mood pad but the cursor doesn't move. it seems to be a synaptics thing.

 

hey guys, do any of your single taps register as quick double taps? i can't click on anything without opening it or highlighting text. i'm using reil's app but i doubt this has anything to do with it..

 

Turn off tapping in synaptics

 

Thanks, that did it

 

So since my computer was running like complete junk on my first boot up, I wiped the computer clean and did a fresh install using Windows Ultimate x64. Sadly i did not save my SwSetup folder, so I reinstalled all my drivers simply by memory/using the forum's Envy 14 Driver page. Everything installed fine, except for my trackpad. After the fresh install the thing has been entirely unresponsive. I've countlessly reinstalled the Synaptics driver, attempted fresh driver installs, wiped the driver clean in safe mode, etc. and yet the device still will not work. It gives me an error whenever I open up my Mouse settings in Control Panel, and the Synaptics device appears in my device manager as a hidden device that isn't working properly. Anyone have advice on how I can restore my trackpad to working order, even with reduced capabilities? I'm willing to try an old driver even, I just need my trackpad working!

 

I can't seem to get 3 finger flicks to work properly in windows explorer. I enabled 3 finger flicks in the synaptics settings. Swiping left and right with 3 fingers works correctly in internet explorer and firefox as back and forward buttons but not in windows explorer. In windows explorer, 3 finger swipes seem to register as left and right arrow buttons rather than forward and back buttons. Has anyone figured out the correct settings to get 3 finger flicks to work properly as back and forward buttons in windows explorer?

 

reil / Friendly0Fire - I agree, too many cooks in this kitchen Not to mention I have little experience with c++ and almost no time to spend on this going forward. If one of you wants to create a unified project and throw it up on source control (goog code?) I'd be more than happy to contribute tweaks here and there, but otherwise I'm going to leave future updates to you guys.

As both of you have found, it does seem like the SDK is fairly capable so I feel like it's definitely possible to bring a refined and useful app to all of the Envy owners out there (there are obviously some shortcomings though which there doesn't appear to be a way to get around).

FYI, the most recent code for my app is available here:
envy14-trackpad-app - Project Hosting on Google Code

Adam

 

heh, in the end, 3 devs started, but no one is going to continue. oh well.

 

If I can clean my code a bit (it's messy), I'll see about adding features

But honestly, your code reil already has just about everything one would need or want.

 

i currently have the "TwoFingerScroll-envy14-v0.02" app. is this the best one out there? Is this the one reil made? If not, can you give me the link and tell me which one is better? Thanks

 

You can look back in this thread for the reil one (I find it best), which that is not.

 

Are there setting in the reil program to make 3 finger presses easier (less distance required between fingers)?

 

reil's link doesn't work. can someone repost it?

 

Friendly0Fire, i find your statement ironic since there were a couple things i thought about stealing when i tried your app. maybe we're predisposed to seeing what our app is missing when looking at the other.

Mike415, i'm not detecting the fingers. the synaptics SDK provides a packet that tells you how many fingers are on the pad. if two fingers are too close together (like touching), it treats it as a single finger with a larger W, but a larger W could be generated by using something like your thumb or palm.

 

hey reil can you post up your program again?

 

hmm so mediafire is saying the server its on is dead.

here's a link to the folder: link

i also uploaded it again, so its in that folder twice.

 

it says MSVCR100.dll is missing? how do i fix this?

 

you probably need this, but i'm not sure:
Download details: Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x86)

 

Or Google it. Websites offer free downloads of .dll files.

 

what do the following mean?
maximum finger travel distance
max w threshold
max z threshold

I find that a problem is that the combination of my left and right palm trigger two finger scrolling and right click. Is there an option in any of these programs that performs scrolling and right click only if the two fingers arent too far apart?

 

how far can the finger move to still be counted as a tap.

the maximum w allowed to still be considered a tap

the maximum z allowed to still be considered a tap

there won't be such an option since the SDK doesn't provide enough information to know how far apart the fingers are.

w and z are what the SDK exposes, which is defined as area of contact and pressure. but the data i looked at, these seem to be rough definitions, so i didn't call it that in the label.

to understand what is capable, if you read the touchpad interfacing guide and the CHM file in the SDK, which are available here, you will see what data is available to the software.

 

i have a question to one of the developers, the touch pad can tell one finger has press down a button, but can still track the other one (like if you were trying to highlight something) correct? So would it be possible to say make the button area a dead zone after it is pressed, while still being able to track your other finger, if so this would solve the only problem i have.

 

The drivers can, the SDK can't. The SDK only gives a single location (I'm assuming it's something like the average of all finger locations). That's why dead zones and pinch-to-zoom (and other such multi-finger moves) aren't doable at least so far.

 

weird... with reils mine double clicks when i single click on something. am i doin something wrong here?

edit nevermind solved it

 

Seems Apples trackpads are also having issues of their own.
Trackpad issue stuck on dragging and selecting - Mac Forums

 

It's all former HP CEO Mark Hurd's fault.

Instead of focusing on design issues like this, he was busy making out with a 50 yr old golddigger.

 

This is strange, with reil's app, tapping with the trackpad tapping doesn't seem to register all the time. The two finger scrolling is wonderful, but if my taps don't register 100% of the time, it doesn't make it useful.

Anyone else getting something like this? The descriptions of your options seem rather vague, so I can't determine what I should try tweaking.

 

my scrolling is perfect, but sometimes the 2 finger for right click stops working...

 

ok, so since i can't really explain w and z to people, i added a packet observer window (hit the * button) which will show you what the packets of information tell the application.

with this, you should be able to tell what you should set the max w and max z to by just continually tapping to see what values you generate and also see when the packet says about the fingers (#, in motion, present) and if the physical button is pressed (and you can see that it says number of fingers = 0 when you hit the button using the edge of the trackpad).

this data is completely unmanipulated. its what the packet from the synaptics SDK has.

 

hey reil, do you know why 2 finger tap for right click sometimes doesn't work? It stopped working for me..

 

it works perfectly for me and the default settings are actually tuned to data from my personal usage.

basically the only reason it won't work is the data you generate when you use the touchpad does not match the configuration in the settings. play with the settings until you figure out how you use your touchpad differs from mine. use the packet observer to see what type of data you're generating and change the settings. there is no magic answer here.

something basic you can do is up the W and Z threshold values to the max. however doing this will allow your palm to trigger taps in some cases.

if you can't get it to work, there are alternative programs like Friendly0Fire or adam's apps.

 

Is there a way I can disable the trackpad while typing? I tried the touchfreeze program but it doesn't work for me, as if it's not even there.

 

Double tap the top left corner. Or try the alternate synaptics drivers.

 

Hp envy 14 will be my first laptop. I am used to only desktop computing before. My question is that do I need to buy a separate mouse for this laptop or it's trackpad is good enough and no mouse is needed?

 

You will probably want one since you are a desktop user pimarily. I havent used a mouse, but Im a trackpad person already.

 

if you plan to game..yeah you'll need a mouse (and a desk)

 

Yes you are right how stupid of me . I'm planning to get Logitech anywhere mouse MX. Heard it's the best wireless portable mouse put there. But it's a little on the expensive side. Trading at $50 at amazon after a $30 discount. Should I buy it or consider anything else?

Also I know it's not the place but any recomendations for a fine headphone set for envy?

 

I have the vx nano with is an amazing mouse. The anywhere MX is the new version of the nano. It won't be comfortable if you have big hands though :/ I'm about 6'6"

I haven't owned a good pair of headphones... in ear monitors though...
The Sennheiser CX300 is a great pair, the Klipsch S4 is better but more expensive

 

*shrugs* not been bothering with a wireless mouse. just using my old usb one

 

If anyone wants to know. I was the one that suggested the TouchFreeze and Two Finger Scroll.

Two Finger Scroll works perfectly. But instead of TouchFreeze I'm now using an AHK script to block mouse movement while typing.

Problem is that Two Finger Scroll and the script sometimes go wonky when there are two points on the touchpad and you're typing. IDK. Weird.

 

You know you can disable the touchpad with two taps on the top-left corner? I find this to be a simple and practical solution, honestly.

 

Hmmm...small question. So I remember before I did a clean install I could middle click by using a three-finger tap on the touchpad. This was extremely helpful when surfing the web and stuff, opening a new window with just a three finger tap instead of right clicking and stuff.
After a clean install I can't figure out how I was able to do that anymore.

I can't find anything in the trackpad settings/options. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

you were probably using that two finger scroll program.

 

edit: solved =/

 

Hello, I just did a clean install, and I cannot seem to find a solution to fix my trackpad, it will not let me disable it by double tapping the top left corner. Is there a driver that I did not install? Thanks.

 

no, but there may be a setting that's turned off.


do you have tap to click turned on? 'cause that needs to be turned on for the double tap to work.

 

Where can I find that option? I have been looking all over for an option box like that, but i cannot seem to find it.

 

is tap to click turned off?


if so it's in the synaptics control panel.

get mouse properties open, go to the device settings tab, click settings, and in there are a couple options. One is tapping. enable it.

the other is touchpad disable zone, enable that too if it isn't.