E14 : Trackpad Discussion Only

yeah I didn't like that app because it was disabling for too long and I couldn't find a sweet spot.

however, it seems like 100ms is a good enough sweet spot. I'll have to remember to close it when playing a game though since it disables the touchpad AND mouse.

your app works great btw...beyond me not knowing how to do the 1 touch drag stuff.

 

also, I'm gonna forget to do that one time and be all "WHAT WHY IS MY MOUSE BREAKI...oh... oh. also 100ms isn't a perfect sweet spot for the touchpad locker if you're typing slow. meh, still good enough for the most part. (right click menu popped up while typing the bold tags since I typoed and had to go back and reposition my hand a bit and stuff and then "whelp, hey right click menu"

 

Thanks

As for the drag, you put one finger down on the trackpad as you normally would do to move the mouse around, then you quickly tap the trackpad with a second finger while leaving the original finger in place (hence 1+1). To stop the dragging, either do a single tap (just as if you wanted to click) if you have sticky drag enabled, or lift your finger off the pad if you don't.

 

ah. cool. can't really get the hang of doing that with 1 hand but *shrugs* wouldn't be hard to do with two hands if I'm actually using the laptop in my lap instead of on a desk (and if it's on a desk I have the mouse).

 

I can't find "tap to click" in the Synaptics drivers (clickpad v7.4), just "enable tapping" and "tap and drag". If I turn off "enable tapping", taps don't register at all. Am I missing something?

Edit - Nevermind - it seems that the 25 setting for the Single Tap interval threshold on the Envy Touchpad app was actually too low, so the tap wasn't registering at all, hence it working with tapping enabled in Synaptics. Once I bumped it back up to 100 and disabled tapping on the Synaptics driver, it started working just fine. I tried that before posting, but I forgot to hit apply, so it didn't actually change the setting.

 

Amazing work guys. It seems like you've sorted the one issue where there was room for improvement. I found this thread really helpful.

Thread Summary:

Skipping/jumping issues under default trackpad settings. Two-finger scrolling jumps. Drag-and-drop issues.

Some variables under Control Panel> Hardware and Sound> Mouse> Device Settings tab> Settings are really worth playing with to improve things, but the above issues still occur. For the solutions below, it's worth disabling the corresponding Control Panel settings so there's no doubling up.

So... here are the solutions so far:

kamarge improved the twofingerscroll program here (page 14)
This is really simple to use, and improves two-finger scrolling dramatically (smoother), adds more tapping options, and means you no longer need to use the Buttons (although you can still have them enabled).

Friendly0Fire posted the clickpad e14 "driver" here (page 17), updated here (page 38)
This improves two-finger scrolling, and adds a smooth momentum effect when you scroll+flick (adjustable settings too). Different drag-and-drop features, and again vastly improves the skipping cursor issues.

reil first posted envy TouchPad here (page 19), now HERE (MediaFire link) (+ you might need this) This runs beautifully.
Works well alongside the stock Synaptics settings (although you should still disable any corresponding settings in Control Panel to let envy TouchPad take over the functions you want. Thanks hummer2023). This is easy to use, super smooth, nice momentum settings at high speed, flexible 1, 2 and 3 finger tap and scroll options.

All three of these options work well with the Paradisoft Touchpad Locker (lock the touchpad while typing). Thanks to dexta and Bronsky for contributing.

I've used all three solutions and they all work well. I've settled on reil' s envy TouchPad program because it corrects the skipping issues, has smooth two-finger scrolling at high speed, and you can still keep some of the original Synaptics features (e.g. three-finger options, double-tap TouchPad Disable Zone workaround. Thanks sasjegbruv123)

Settings I've gone for in reil' s envy TouchPad:
Speed 160,
Maximum Z threshold: 255 (maximum, means two-finger scrolling responds well/doesn't skip)
Delta ratio threshold: 0 (minimum, means two-finger scrolling works for horizontal and vertical scrolling at the same time, which I like)
Inertial Duration: 500 (nice scroll fade, looks sweet)
Tapping: Initially I disabled 1-finger tapping and kept the stock (Synaptics) Tapping settings switched on to keep the Envy's TouchPad Disable Zone working. [Edit: Turns out this registers a 1-finger click when you perform a 2-finger tap, so I've gone for all-out envy TouchPad settings for tapping.]

@reil; Maybe call Delta ratio threshold "AND/OR Horizontal-Vertical scrolling". Maximum Z threshold could be "Scrolling catchiness"

 

Thank you so much JoeWasEre. I came into the thread hoping someone would know how to improve 2 finger scrolling and your post addressed that and much more!

 

I totally Agree, Thanks JoeWasEre for this great writeup! I was using the stock Synaptics before and your review make me switch to Reil's Envy Touchpad which works really nice. It makes scrolling so much easier and it feels really natural. It indeed works great next to the stock Synaptics stuff. However it seems to mess up the Multitouch zooming a bit (it's just to sensitive and it's very hard to zoom just one small step) but after reading this thread that seems normal.

+Rep for Joe and Reil

 

Mediafire is not working anymore, can't download the reil's app

 

it is for me.

might just be down for you for awhile.

 

I just tried to download the 4 files, and my Norton 2010 stopped the envyTouchpad.exe because it was a "medium" threat and has something called WS.Reputation.1 in it. What's the story? Anybody else's antivirus pick this up?

 

Yeah, it does that sometimes. Norton usually gives 2 pop-ups. The second one has a link in it to view the detected file. From there you can tell Norton to restore it and allow it. Should work then.

I think envyTouchPad-src.7z is the code, so you probably don't need that. envyTouchPad.exe is the one that does the magic [:

 

I've read through some of the thread, but it is fairly long and searched for my question, but the best way is to get a response directly:

If using some of the software provided by you awesome people, or by Synaptics, I take it there is an option to create a deadzone over the mouse buttons. I then take it that there is an option to disable mouse movement if two fingers are on the trackpad (which includes the mouse buttons i take it?) which would seriously impede dragging and dropping using the mouse button + touchpad.

Now, my question is. If all I was interested in is turning the trackpad into a standard touchpad + 2 mouse buttons would it be possible through only setting the deadzone feature and disabling/enabling the right features to make this possible? Meaning, the mouse buttons would have no ability to move the cursor, but having a finger on the mouse button would also not impede my ability to move the cursor with another finger.

 

This happened before as well, and I think the copy I uploaded should still work: Free File Hosting - Online File Storage for Mp3, Videos, Music. Best File Host

Incidentally, I turned off tap to click in the drivers to avoid both apps registering a click, and now I can't tap in the upper left corner to turn the touchpad off. I suppose this means I should turn off 1 finger tapping in Reil's app and turn it back on in the driver?

 

Naa, that's the problem. Everything would be fine if you could do that. As far as I know, this isn't an option.

You can have " double-tap and drag to drag-and-drop" enabled. You can have click buttons enabled too, but that interferes with 2-finger actions because there's no deadzone option over the buttons.

The trackpad can work as a normal touchpad, with 2-finger scrolling disabled and click buttons enabled, but without a deadzone you can't rest your finger on one of the buttons while you're using the touchpad to move around without the cursor jumping about as it tries to average the 2-fingers as one input. You options at the moment are to either not have your finger resting on the buttons - which is fine - or try out tapping, which is very good and I would recommend it.

The extra bits of software offered so far (links in first post) let you have even more tapping options, and help smooth out the 2-finger scrolling, making it very easy to use.

For me, the Golden Egg would be to have the option of a deadzone over the button areas, and to keep all the other features available for the rest of the pad (Trackpad Disable Zone, 1-,2- and 3-finger tapping/scrolling, momentum). The stock trackpad settings are a long way off this, but with the extra software around at the moment we're getting close to perfection.

 

Yeah, it's either/or at the moment.

With Synaptics Tapping disabled (and enabled in another app), you can't get the Touchpad Disable Zone working, but with Synaptics Tapping Enabled, you run into problems using another app for 2-finger tap right-clicking, because it registers a Synaptics 1-finger click at the same time, so you're back to using buttons again for right clicking. I'm currently sacrificing the stock Touchpad Disable Zone feature so that 2-finger tapping and scrolling work nicely using reil's app ( envyTouchPad). If I was doing more typing, I might just use reil's app for smoothing out 2-finger scrolling only, and keep 1-finger tapping/click buttons enabled in Synaptics (therefore keeping the Touchpad Disable Zone).

(Using Paradisoft Touchpad Locker (lock the touchpad while typing) too)

 

Really liking reil's program. The two-finger scrolling with momentum and three-finger horizontal swipe work better than the Synaptics stock set. Only issue that hasn't been mentioned before is that the three-finger horizontal page swipe doesn't seem to work in powerpoint anymore, whereas it did with the synaptics gestures. Though I must say the synaptics three-finger page flick gesture didn't work in the windows file explorer\ whereas reil's does, so it's a tradeoff.

 

I believe Reil's essentially makes the 3 finger clicks act as the back/forward mouse buttons present on many mice. Its up to the program to make use of this, but its fairly common.

Reil's has worked on many more things than Synaptics ever did.

 

Hey guys. So, HP sent me my new Envy 14 to replace my defective unit. All seemed well at first, the HP light was fine, no bent metal, etc.

Unfortunately, my touchpad feels "loose." If I tap my finger lightly on it, I feel a "click," which makes kind of a loud noise. This is before I even press with enough pressure to click the touchpad. The bottom right corner feels like it's a millimeter or two lower than the border of the palmrest. I can deal with that, but the click noise and feel is unacceptable.

Despite what people say, the quality control on the Envy 14 so far seems to be fairly poor. Has anyone had this problem before, and does anyone know a way to fix this?

Thanks in advance. This is about the fourth or fifth Envy I've gotten back (mostly from repair) from HP, and every time they've been defective in some kind of serious way.

 

It "clicks when tapped" it on mine also (my cickpad is pretty even all the way around though). Ive seen a decent amount of reports around. Its my biggest gripe with my Envy so far.

 

Does it come with the Radiance screen?


And yes, their QC is spotty at best. Their repair tech people are probably just as bad.

 

Yeah, it has a Radiance screen.

Does anyone know of ANY way to fix this or alleviate the problem? This is more annoying than the defective unit I had before.

The only plus so far is that the DVD drive in this unit doesn't whirr when it boots/comes out of sleep, it just makes sort of a "beep" sound.

 

Anyone else having problems with Touchpad Locker? It seems like after a while the program stops working because it crashes....when I try to exit the program it throws a "unhandled exception [. . .] invalid hook handle" error.

 

God, I went to officedepot yesterday, and was fiddling with the dv6 units there. What's up with these new touchpads that HP's been using? 1 black of cheapy matte black plastic that presses entirely, and is uneven in the click area for rightclick/leftclick? So sh*tty... Does E14 have the same clickpad? What happened to touchpads being separate from the buttons?

**Apologize for crossposting this in the other thread.

 

I'm thinking of sending my unit in for a replacement...and I'm afraid I won't get a radiance screen ( I got it with radiance)...

Did you specifically ask them to send you radiance and when did you talk to HP for this replacement? ( was it back when radiance was still an option?)

 

yes the envy 14 has that crappy touchpad/clickpad dookie.


with the proper software it can get decent but still is kinda...well...iffy.

 

how an i get Two Finger Scroll to start automatically when i restart my system? without having to "Run" it manually all the time? i get a popup asking do i want to allow this program to run.

 

Look closely at that popup and you'll notice a checkable box stating: Don't show this message again.

 

I didn't just send mine in for replacement. After my two failed repairs, HP offered me a similar unit, of which the rep emailed me the specs so I could review them myself-- I got the exact same unit I originally bought. I needed to make sure I got the Radiance display, as I wouldn't be bothering with the Envy 14 if it had the standard 1366x768 screen. The only difference with this unit is the DVD drive, which is quieter, and the broken touchpad.

The problem I am experiencing is definitely a hardware problem. My previous Envy 14 did not have a broken touchpad-- it was solid. Slightly raised on the right edge, but it was solid.

 

well that sucks horribly.

try to get a replacement?

 

I had a similar experience, though minus the broken touch pad. My first Envy 14's DVD drive was wicked loud (extremely annoying) and vibrated like crazy when a DVD was inserted. The new one is very quiet.

My previous Envy 14's touch pad felt a little bit more solid, and had a slightly raised bottom right edge. The new one still feels solid (not broken by any means) but is slightly looser. It sits completely flush with the chassis, however.

Overall, I'd give the old one an 8/10 for build quality. The new one gets a solid 10/10. Sorry to hear you're touch pad clearly has a problem.

 

I miss the old touchpad + 2 buttons that were separate, and you had a 3rd small button to disable the touchpad... Stupid HP trying to save money on plastics and springs.

 

Just got my Envy 14 yesterday and I came across this thread because i was really dissapointed with the way that the multitouch was working.
Hopefully the recommended programs will improve the two finger scrolling

I also came across Scrybe, has anyone tried this? Is it possible to run scrybe and the user programs on page 41?

 

I can't wait until buttons (and the clickable pads) are gone completely and the pads are enlarged. Single finger / two finger / three finger tap is much more efficient. Physical buttons are simply not necessary with the new generation of multi-touch pads. Clickable pads and virtual button zoning are just transitional elements to accommodate the users who are just so used to the legacy hardware and are stuck in their ways because they don't know any better and unfortunately these elements detract from the user experience. Apple is nearly there, and the others will soon follow.

 

I'd be fine with the envy pad if it was recessed some, like my asus's touchpad.

you wouldn't accidentally trigger it with your fingers since your thumb would be hovering above it (since it's far enough down for the thumb not to touch it)

far enough down is like..half an inch or something

 

Good point. I love my buttons though. But you are correct about doing away with them completely. It should just be integrated into the palmrest, and they should just engrave a square or spray paint a square around the "touch" area or something.

Btw, can one disable that clickpad? I tried disabling the clickpad at Office Depot and Frys on the various HP laptops there, but doubleclicking that little dot does nothing.

 

I'm gonna have to agree with Rampant Speculation above me - I understand the nostalgia for the old-style of touchpad, but it's rapidly becoming a thing of the past. Tapping to click (though it's not always perfect on these Synaptics pads) is typically faster than using a button, and multi touch beats the pants off of single touch for navigation, though, once again, Synaptics drivers and pads are still a bit behind. If there's anything I regret about this pad, it's that we ended up with the in-betweener Touchpad and not the more advanced buttonless, hingeless Clickpad.

Besides, I doubt that the price of manufacture (which falls on Synaptics or whoever they contract to build the touchpads and clickpads, rather than HP) is notably impacted by the current build-style, though I could be wrong - fewer buttons means a larger capacitive surface, and those buttons and springs probably only combined to cost a couple cents per pad - a big number when you count the pads they were manufacturing, but minuscule next to the market value of those pads, and negligible if the larger surface offsets those costs anyway.

 

So...if it becomes ALL-touch, how do we right click?

 

well.

two fingers.

 

oooooooohhhhhh.

 

Just installed the envy touch pad software on page 41. Couldn't recommend it more. Multitouch now works as good as a MacBook in my opinion. I particularly like the three finger gestures for navigating forward and backwards.

 

Which one specifically? There are a few apps listed on that page.

Thanks!

 

The on page 41 called envy Touchpad. The one by 'reil'. It's the one which the author recommends the most.

 

My Envy 14 does that too, Im sure in my class it is loud enough to catch the attention of classmate next to me..

Other than this, there are no excessive fan noise, battery life is acceptable, gaming performance is good. Should I return it for this loose trackpad thing or do you guys think the pro outweight the con and just keep using it?

PS: For those of you with loose trackpad, is this a problem that will eventually cause it to break off or will be fine and just a design problem?

 

I am definitely not looking forward to the track pad issues. Sometimes simplicity is best. There was nothing wrong with the dv6000 track pad I have, and I will miss it. Dedicated buttons are beautiful. HP should not have followed the Apple gimmick.

 

First post here guys...

Just received my new Envy, and I have a friends MacBook Pro sitting right next to it. My Envy is perfect as far as build quality. The trackpad is driving me nuts. I'm a traditional trackpad user who wants a touchpad area, and 2 physical buttons. I believe the only way to achieve that with the Envy 14 is to have large dead zones covering the left and right buttons. I've read this entire thread end to end, and I wanted to ask one final time...

Do we believe there will be a solution to provide me the experience I'm looking for in the near near future?

Thanks for any and all opinions in advance. This will be determining if I'll be selling this on eBay.

 

I was looking for the same solution as you... to put a deadzone over the buttons. That's not possible at the moment, from what everyone's tried.

...but now that I'm using tapping rather than buttons, using one of the community-made bits of software for added smoothness, more tapping and multi-touch scrolling, I'm really happy. It's quick and easy. The tweaked Envy touchpad works similarly to the Macbook Pro touchpad. I think most people here would highly recommend at least trying envyTouchpad.exe (links on page 1).

 

Yes that envyTouchpad.exe is really a must for all Envy users. It makes the trackpad so much better.
Actually I have used a Macbook for the last couple of hours and I've just switched back to the Envy 14. I must say, the two finger scrolling is on par with the Mac. The one/two/three finger tapping actually works better than the Mac (on the Mac I had to really press the touchpad untill it 'clicks' to make tapping work). Only thing I really miss in on the Envy is smooth Multitouch zoom and in some windows the two finger scrolling isn't that smooth. In the browser and Windows Explorer it's super smooth though.
I too don't use the physical left/right click areas on the trackpad anymore now I got the two/three finger tap working. It works so much better/faster/smoother this way. No more jumping cursor and such.

 

So is the biggest problem the fact that the entire thing is a pad that clicks all at once? Or is it the fact that clicking left-click or right-click is difficult? Or is it because its so sensitive that when you want to move the cursor/click, you accidentally do the other?

I propose a solution to the sensitivity issue: Tape a strip of electric tape, about a quarter inch wide horizontally across the bottom end of the trackpad, right above the left-click/right-click region. This way, you know not to go below that region, and the electric tape prevents accidentally cursor moving? Would this solution work?

For everything else, iono lol.

 

the issue is that the trackpad moves if you try to click the buttons, making it difficult to click and drag with the buttons.

since, the button deadzone is really really small. and the buttons aren't a separate button but part of the trackpad's uh..well..trackpad.

(the whole thing doesn't really register clicks. it clicks down at the bottom but not at the top)