Disabling Synaptics Touchpad with mouse or keyboard in use?

I have a synaptics touchpad on my Acer Aspier AS1410 notebook. I am constantly accidentally highlighting and deleting things because my thumb or hand hits the touchpad while typing. I didn't see any option to disable while typing or using an attached USB mouse, or even a hotkey would do.

Anyone know of an option to do this?

 

there is a utility floating around that will do this for you. It might have been discussed on lifehacker in the past week or 10 days.

 

htwingnut,

Try this link:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=437609

It does reference a tool that was highlighted on LifeHacker. My ALPS touchpad has an option for this built in to the drivers. So I didn't need this. But the app appears to be exactly what you are looking for.

Gary

 

Go to the synaptics control panel and select turn off touchpad when external mouse is plugged in

 

I looked for that but doesn't exist.

 

This is the best one I know of, I use it for my 1000H since its easy to bump the touchpad while typing. It worked better than the palm protection built into the actual touchpad drivers.

http://code.google.com/p/touchfreeze/

I have had it for over 2 years now, looks like its the same one they just said was recently posted on lifehacker lol.

 

To disable your Synaptics touchpad:
1. Select Start > Settings > Control Panel > Mouse icon to open the Mouse Properties dialog box.
2. Click on the Device Settings tab.
3. Click the Disable button. Click OK in response to the system message that displays.

To disable your touchpad just while you're typing, try Googling keywords like "disable Synaptics touchpad" and "Windows 7" together, and check your Acer customizations to see if there's something specific to that make and model. Also, the Synaptics website, www.synaptics.com, offers some help too.

Here are some of the Synaptic customizations. I've highlighted the ones that I think may help your problem, and you might try experimenting with those settings to see if some changes in your current settings will help. (Pay special attention to several of them, including Tapping, Palm Check, and Sensitivity.)

Right click Desktop to open Personalize
Scroll down and select: MOUSE POINTERS; this opens MOUSE PROPERTIES page.
Go to: POINTER OPTIONS:
MOTION:
Select a POINTER SPEED:
Check: Enhance pointer precision
In the Visibility section, check: Hide pointer while typing
DEVICE SETTINGS:
Click the Settings bar:
Click on Overview to open the tree and read the overview of the controls.
TAPPING: Select: No
BUTTONS: Double click on Buttons to open the tree and set the controls:
Left Button Action: Primary Click
Right Button Action: Secondary Click
VIRTUAL SCROLLING: Double click on Virtual Scrolling to open the tree and set the controls:
Check: Enable vertical scrolling and horizontal scrolling
LONG DISTANCE SCROLLING
Coasting: No
Edge motion when scrolling: No
SCROLLING SPEED: Set slider for scrolling speed.
Adjust SCROLLING REGION
SCROLLING SELECTION: Select: Scroll item under pointer
EDGE MOTION: Select Edge Motion, i.e. Perform Edge Motion when pointing and dragging
Select your Edge Motion Region and Edge Motion Speed: Control motion with finger and set slider at medium-slow.
Constrained Motion: No
Slow Motion: No
Sticky Borders: No
SENSITIVITY: Double click on Sensitivity to open the tree and set the controls:
Double click on the + icon to open tree
PALM CHECK: you can usually leave Palm Check at the default spot. (If mouse gets erratic, increase toward Maximum. If mouse is not responsive to certain clicks, decrease toward Minimum)
TOUCH SENSITIVITY:
Light Touch – Try different settings toward the least sensitive side
Click on Apply, and then OK.