TouchFreeze: Automatically disable your laptop’s touchpad/trackpad while typing
November 29, 2011 18
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Back when I first got my laptop, I had a helluva time getting used to trying not to touch the touchpad while typing. Eventually after lowing the sensitivity of the touchpad and spending hours typing, I learned how to minimize my typing errors resulting from accidental touchpad touch-age. However, to this day I still struggle with the problem at times. If you are like me and share the same problem, TouchFreeze may be for you.
TouchFreeze is a very small, lightweight, and simple utility that automatically disables your touchpad whenever you type. When you stop typing, TouchFreeze re-enables the touchpad.
TouchFreeze works out of your system tray:
To use TouchFreeze, all you have to do in install it and run it. TouchFreeze does everything itself so there are no “settings” for your to change.
Now please be warned TouchFreeze will not work for every laptop – it doesn’t work for mine. However, I do suggest if you struggle with the touchpad-typing problem you give TouchFreeze a try and if it works for you, great; if it doesn’t just uninstall it. You may grab TouchFreeze from the following links:
Version reviewed: v1.0
Supported OS: Windows NT/2000/XP
There have been reports that it works on Windows Vista and Win7 also.
[via Raymond.cc]
About the author: Ashraf View all posts by Ashraf
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I had that same problem until I realized that I can turn off the touchpad with a button on my laptop. I was SO happy to have found that!
I’m sure TouchFreeze will come in very handy for those who’s computers it will work on.
@Wheezer: I probably have one of the only laptops in the world that doesn’t have a button to turn off the touchpad and the software doesn’t support the ability to automatically turn off touchpad when an external mouse is used. Ugh.
Every time I’ve been faced with a touchpad, I inevitably wind up hitting it when I don’t want to. The other thing that always seemed to happen was the inability to hover the pointer over an icon. Whatever it represented would open, whether or not I wanted it to.
My solution? Cheap USB mouse. Works fine for me.
@OldElmerFudd: I also use an external mouse. However sometimes I am not in a position to use an external mouse (i.e. not sitting at my desk) so having to use the touchpad is a necessity.
Hey Ashraf, cool program! I love your site.
As an afterthought… I HATE TOUCHPADS!
They are hard to navigate on
The problem you mentioned above
The seemingly strange point that everyone will spill something onto the touchpad.
It always breaks down!
My solution:
Remove the touchpad when I buy a laptop and then use an external mouse!
I loathe touchpads! Only use one when I absolutely have to. The only one I can tolerate is the one on my old IBM ThinkPad. I always use a trackball.
Thanks, this definitely goes in the toolbox.
@Adrian: Isn’t removing the touchpad a bit extreme? What if you are stranded on an island with just your laptop – no external mouse – and satellite internet. Without a touchpad how would you e-mail someone for help?
@tejas: When I was first getting into the laptop buying market – to buy my first laptop – I specifically tried to get a trackball one over a touchpad one because I also like trackballs better. But man, they hardly offer many trackballs ones anymore. At this point I think I am more used to a touchpad so even if I was given a trackball, I probably couldn’t use it properly anyway.
@Ashraf:
I mean an external trackball. I didn’t know they ever made laptop with a built in trackball.
That would be cool. ;)
Doesn’t work me either, Ashraf.
Win 7 64bit. Tried installing in compatibility mode, but still no joy.
Works like a charm. I was really in need of such a nice program. Thanks, Ashraf!
Thanks Ashraf but i usually use an external mouse and set the touchpad properties to have them disabled when external mouse is connected so no probs here.
thanks, i needed this. saved me a lot of headaches from typographical errors. very lightweight, you won’t even know it’s there.
Great contribution, thx buddy, this is just what I was looking for. ^^
Touchfreeze worked great for several weeks and now it is not working. Is there something I can do?
Seems to be a great utility for my new laptop. Thanks Ashraf.
@ Judith Try to uninstall & reinstall maybe…
Nice share ashraf. But my laptop is old IBM Thinkpad R51e. Doesn’t even have touchpad. Just something in the middle red thing in the keyboard. I don’t know what’s called. I use eksternal mouse
downloaded it and it doesn’t work. Too bad because I type all day. Afraid to disable the touchpad because on the ASUS the mouse keys are at the base of the touchpad.
Appears to work just fine on a Dell Vostro V13 running Windows 8 32-bit, without any special tweaks or anything. Thanks for a great utility.