Restore and customize laptop touchpads with easy installation, gesture controls, hot corners, and sensitivity options
Restore and customize laptop touchpads with easy installation, gesture controls, hot corners, and sensitivity options
Vote (78 votes)
Program license Free
Developer synaptics
Version 19.2.17.59
Works under Windows
Vote
(78 votes)
Developer
synaptics
Works under
Windows
Program license
Free
Version
19.2.17.59
Pros
- Works with older touchpads attached to 64-bit machines
- Supports many Synaptics-branded devices
- Easy to install
Cons
- May be unnecessary
- Unneeded installation can cause problems
Synaptics Touchpad Driver 64-bits is a modern toolset that contains touch-control drivers for a large variety of laptops. Countless hardware vendors bundle Synaptics technology into their machines, so this might be necessary for quite a few users. In fact, some people have found that installing it got a touchpad to work even though they weren't entirely sure that Synaptics was the company that made the hardware behind it.
That being said, you won't want to install this unnecessarily. If you were to do so on a machine with a perfectly working touchpad, then you could cause problems. Most people will probably never have to install a touchpad driver separately, since Windows-based laptops usually come with support for them bundled in. That's excellent news for those who'd rather not have to muck about with their systems to begin with.
Those who plan on installing an alternative operating system on their rigs probably won't have to worry about this process either, since there are a number of FOSS drivers for their hardware as well. That being said, those who have had to reinstall Windows on an existing laptop or notebook may suddenly find that their touchpad doesn't work.
If that's the case, then all they might have to do is install this 64-bit driver. Synaptics made the installation process extremely easily. It comes as a single file that starts a wizard when launched. Since the defaults are applicable for a wide variety of situations, you probably won't have to adjust any settings. Simply click next a couple of times and then reboot.
When your machine comes back up, your touchpad should be working again. You'll be able to tap it to issue a single click or use any of the integrated buttons to interact with user interface elements. An overwhelming majority of users won't really mess with the software beyond this.
That being said, it has a great deal more to offer those who want to customize their touchpad experience. The app allows you to flick through documents and files using a three touch gesture, which is quite useful for those who do a lot of work on their laptops.
Others might want to configure a four touch gesture, which can be used to minimize applications and switch applications. Perhaps most importantly, the driver can be used to define custom hot corners. Those who want to make shortcuts for their mouse cursor just like keyboard shortcuts will love this option.
Those with sensitive devices or who want total control over their laptops can even specify how much pressure is needed to actuate the touchpad. Some computers tend to be more touchy than others, so there's a chance that users might want to potentially turn the sensitivity level down as well. It all depends on personal preferences and the type of software you're running.
More than likely, hardcore gamers will get the most use out of this option. While many people don't necessarily like to use a touchpad for gaming, this driver can make it somewhat palatable. In fact, those who use it to compliment a mouse and other peripherals should find that they get almost as much usage out of their touchpad as they do the built-in keyboard.
Power users who plug external mouses in via USB won't have any trouble using the two devices alongside one another. Synaptics was careful to design the driver in a way that only takes over control of actual touchpads. That means that it will never interfere with the use of any other external devices attached to your system.
Creative solutions could thus be developed with this slightly unusual system. For instance, you could set one sensitivity level on your touchpad and then use the default native OS tools to set a different one for your mouse. Once again, this would be an ideal solution for those who play challenging FPS titles online and need a pair of devices to target their on screen reticle.
Even CAD artists and graphic designers should appreciate this option, as will power users who like to have some degree of control over every aspect of their system. Best of all, many people who would benefit from this kind of driver already have it installed.
Pros
- Works with older touchpads attached to 64-bit machines
- Supports many Synaptics-branded devices
- Easy to install
Cons
- May be unnecessary
- Unneeded installation can cause problems
Pros
- Works with most laptop touchpads
- Driver plus a control panel
- A range of personalization options
Cons
- None
Synaptics Touchpad Drivers are the appropriate device drivers for most laptop touchpads.
If you have a laptop or other computing device with a touchpad, then chances are that touchpad relies on device drivers developed by Synaptics to communicate user input to the operating system. This software supports basic as well as advanced movement and tapping, and it also supports other touchpad characteristics, such as special buttons, pressure detection, scroll wheels, styluses and so forth. Not all characteristics may be supported by your device, however.
The Synaptics Touchpad Drivers are device-independent, which means that they’ll work with most laptop touchpads. These are generic drivers, and if your touchpad is designed to work the Synaptics API, then these will work. It’s important to note that some hardware manufacturers release proprietary drivers built on this package. If that’s the case in your situation, then these drivers will still work but will not support any features added by the manufacturer above and beyond the standard implementation.
It’s also important to note that this package is intended specifically for 64-bit versions of Windows. If you’re running 32-bit Windows or an operating system other than Windows on your laptop, then you’ll need to find, download and install the Synaptics Touchpad Drivers for that particular environment.
The Synaptics Touchpad Drivers package isn’t just drivers. It also provides a control panel for your device or multiple supported devices. Within this control panel, you’ll discover six tabs all containing their own selection of hardware and personalization options: Buttons, Pointers, Pointer Options, Wheel, Hardware and Device Settings. Through this interface, you can dictate the software and hardware behavior of your device. For instance, you can choose the speed of the mouse pointer as your finger glides across the touchpad or change the default cursor pointer used by Windows.
Pros
- Works with most laptop touchpads
- Driver plus a control panel
- A range of personalization options
Cons
- None