README.TXT for the Synaptics TouchPad
This file contains supplemental information for the
Synaptics TouchPad Driver install disk.
____________________________________________________________
README FILE CONTENTS
1. GETTING STARTED
1.1 Installation
1.2 Using the Synaptics TouchPad
1.3 Special Features
2. WINDOWS 95 SUPPORT
2.1 Driver Installation
2.2 Using the Synaptics TouchPad Control Panel
2.3 Restoring Your Installation
3. WINDOWS 3.1 SUPPORT
3.1 Driver Installation
3.2 Using the Synaptics TouchPad Control Panel
3.3 Restoring Your Installation
4. DOS SUPPORT
5. FILES ON THE INSTALL DISK
____________________________________________________________
1. GETTING STARTED
1.1 Installation
If the Synaptics TouchPad is built into your computer,
the necessary drivers should already be loaded and
ready to use.
If you are adding this device to your system, upgrading
to a newer driver version, or restoring your original
configuration, see the installation instructions later
in this document.
1.2 Using the Synaptics TouchPad
To move the cursor, place the finger lightly on the
sensor pad and move in the desired direction. If you
reach the end of the pad, lift your finger and place it
back down on the other side of the pad. If you find
yourself doing this too often, configure the driver to
increase the horizontal and vertical sensitivity.
In most computers, the TouchPad has two buttons which
work just like left and right mouse buttons. You can
also tap on the pad to simulate a left button click. A
light, quick tap works best.
To simulate holding the mouse button down ("dragging"
an icon or selection), use the tap-and-drag gesture.
This feels much like a double-click, except that the
finger remains on the pad after the second tap: Tap,
lift, tap, hold and move. The simulated button remains
held as long as the finger remains on the pad.
1.3 Special Features
The Synaptics TouchPad Control Panel allows you to
customize the features of the TouchPad. As well as all
the controls of a regular mouse control panel, the
"TouchPad" page offers these unique features:
* Edge Motion. During a tap-and-drag gesture, if your
finger comes up against the edge of the pad, the
cursor keeps moving as long as you hold your finger
there. In the Control Panel, you can choose between
no Edge Motion, Edge Motion during drags (the
default), or Edge Motion all the time.
* Touch Sensitivity. By moving this slider, you can
make the TouchPad more or less sensitive to a light
touch of the finger.
* Locking Drag. With this option, the tap-and-drag
gestures keep "holding the mouse button down" even
after you lift your finger from the pad. Tap your
finger again to end the drag.
* Corner Taps. This is a way to simulate a two-button
mouse entirely with finger gestures. With Corner
Taps, tapping in the upper-right corner of the pad
clicks the right mouse button, and tapping anywhere
else clicks the left mouse button.
* Hop Gesture. This is an alternate two-button gesture.
With your finger resting on the pad, if you lift and
quickly tap a good distance to the left or right, you
get a right-button click instead of a left-button
click. Tapping near where your finger was resting
before produces the usual left-button click.
* Three-button mode. If you have software that requires
a 3-button mouse, select this option. The TouchPad
simulates a 3-button mouse where tapping gestures
operate the "left" mouse button, and the two physical
switches operate the "middle" and "right" mouse
buttons.
In the DOS driver, you can control these features by
editing the MOUSE.INI file or using command line
switches. See SYNTOUCH.TXT for details, or type
"SYNTOUCH ?" to see a list of command line switches.
____________________________________________________________
2. WINDOWS 95 SUPPORT
2.1 Driver Installation
To install the Synaptics TouchPad driver for
Windows 95:
- From the Start menu, select "Settings", "Control
Panel", then "Mouse" to open the Mouse Properties
sheet.
- Click the "General" tab, then click the "Change"
button.
- Click "Have Disk" and insert the driver disk in your
floppy drive. Confirm or correct the file path
(normally "a:\"), then click "OK".
- Click "Synaptics TouchPad", then "OK" to copy the
driver files to your system.
- After the files are copied, the Mouse Properties
sheet will show the new device name. Click "Close".
- The "System Settings Change" dialog will offer to
restart your computer so the new settings can take
effect. Select "Yes".
2.2 Using the Synaptics TouchPad Control Panel
To change your Synaptics TouchPad settings under
Windows 95:
- From the Start menu, select "Settings", "Control
Panel", then "Mouse" to open the Mouse Properties
sheet.
- Click the "General" tab, then click the "Options"
button to bring up the Synaptics TouchPad Control
Panel.
- The available controls are grouped into five
categories (Pointer, Motion, Orientation, Shortcuts,
TouchPad). Some of these options also appear on the
standard Mouse Properties tabs. However, in most
cases they are best controlled through the Synaptics
TouchPad pages. Online Help is provided for all
topics.
- When you are satisfied with your settings, click OK
to close the Synaptics TouchPad Control Panel, then
OK to close Mouse Properties.
2.3 Restoring Your Installation
The Synaptics TouchPad drivers are compatible with most
standard mice and similar pointing devices. However, if
you do change drivers to use another device, you can
restore the Synaptics TouchPad installation (including
your control panel settings) as follows:
- From the Start menu, select "Settings", "Control
Panel", then "Mouse" to open the Mouse Properties
sheet.
- Click the "General" tab, then click the "Change"
button.
- If "Synaptics TouchPad" does not appear in the first
list of pointing device models, click "Show All
Devices". In the Manufacturers column, click
"Synaptics."
- Click "Synaptics TouchPad", then "OK" to copy the
driver files to your system.
- If the "Copying Files..." step cannot find the driver
files, it will ask you to correct the source path.
Enter "c:\syntouch" (using the same drive letter as
your Windows 95 installation), then click "OK".
- After the files are copied, the Mouse Properties
sheet will show the new device name. Click "Close".
- The "System Settings Change" dialog will offer to
restart your computer so the new settings can take
effect. Select "Yes".
____________________________________________________________
3. WINDOWS 3.1 SUPPORT
3.1 Driver Installation
To install the Synaptics TouchPad driver for Windows
3.1 (including Windows 3.11 or Windows for Workgroups)
or any DOS version (3.3 or later is recommended):
- If Windows is running, exit to DOS. The installer
cannot be run from inside Windows or from a Windows
DOS session.
- Insert the driver disk in your floppy drive.
- Type "A:\INST31" (using the appropriate drive letter)
and follow the prompts. You will be asked to confirm
the installation type (DOS, Windows, or both), the
driver directory, and whether the DOS driver should
be loaded at startup time. If you are unsure about
any question, simply accept the default response.
- If you allowed the install program to update
AUTOEXEC.BAT, it will offer to reboot your system
with the new settings. The Windows driver will become
active the next time you start Windows.
3.2 Using the Synaptics TouchPad Control Panel
- From the Program Manager, open the Main program
group, then double-click on Control Panel.
- Double-click the Synaptics TouchPad icon to bring up
the Synaptics TouchPad Control Panel. (This enhanced
control panel replaces the standard Mouse Control
Panel.)
- The available controls are grouped into five
categories (Pointer, Motion, Orientation, Shortcuts,
TouchPad). Online Help is provided for all topics.
- When you are satisfied with your settings, click OK
to close the Synaptics TouchPad Control Panel.
3.3 Restoring Your Installation
The Synaptics TouchPad drivers are compatible with most
standard mice and similar pointing devices. However, if
you do change drivers to use another device, you can
restore the Synaptics TouchPad installation (including
your control panel settings) as follows:
- If Windows is running, exit to DOS. The installer
cannot be run from inside Windows or from a Windows
DOS session.
- Change to the drive and directory containing your
Synaptics TouchPad installation (e.g., C:\SYNTOUCH).
- Type "INST31" and follow the prompts. Make certain
you specify the same installation path where the
files currently reside. This will cause the installer
to restore the previous configuration using those
files and saved settings.
- If you allowed the install program to update
AUTOEXEC.BAT, it will offer to reboot your system
with the new settings. The Windows driver will become
active the next time you start Windows.
____________________________________________________________
4. DOS SUPPORT
The Windows 95 install procedure described above
automatically includes the DOS driver, SYNTOUCH.COM.
This driver provides the support needed for DOS
applications, either full-screen or windowed.
If you are not running Windows 95, use the INST31
program to install the Synaptics TouchPad drivers for
DOS only, Windows only (version 3.1), or both DOS and
Windows.
Some of the pointing device settings (such as
sensitivity, acceleration and orientation) are shared
between the DOS and Windows drivers. The easiest way to
set these options is through the Synaptics TouchPad
Control Panel in Windows. The DOS driver will pick up
any changes the next time it starts up.
Other settings (such as the pointer options) may differ
between DOS and Windows, and are stored separately in
the MOUSE.INI file. You can change the DOS settings
directly by editing this file or by adding option
switches to the SYNTOUCH command line. See the
SYNTOUCH.TXT file for details.
____________________________________________________________
5. FILES ON THE INSTALL DISK
README.TXT This file
SYNTOUCH.INF Windows 95 setup script
INST31.EXE Windows 3.1 (or DOS) install program
SYNTOUCH.DRV Windows driver
SYNTOUCH.DLL Windows control panel
SYNTOUCH.HLP Windows help file
SFTTABS.DLL Windows control panel interface
XMVMD.386 Windows Virtual Mouse Device
XPOINT.EXE Windows pointer enhancements
SYNTOUCH.COM DOS driver
SYNTOUCH.TXT DOS driver options and switches
MOUSE.INI DOS and Windows configuration file
____________________________________________________________
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.