What is the general name for the device that is a flat surface that senses the movement of a finger on its surface?

Unit 8. Operating system

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Point and click
Left and right click
Laptop Touchpad
Use a laptop touchpad (or trackpad)
What is the general name for a device with a flat rectangular surface which also senses movement of a finger on its surface?
Which device that is moved by hand over a flat surface?
What type of input device is a flat surface that is sensitive to pressure and motion and is used to communicate with a computer or device?
What is a touchpad used for?

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Pointing

Point and click

– a device used to control the movement of the pointer (cursor) on the screen.
The major pointing devices in use today are the mouse, trackpad or touchpad (laptop), touch screens, etc.
– point an object on the screen and then press a button on the mouse to select objects / commands, open menus / hyperlinks (links), or close windows.
– quickly click the left mouse button twice on any folder, file, or program to open it.

Left and right click

– press the left mouse button on the left side of the mouse. Left-click is often referred to as “regular-click” and it is used for many common computer tasks, such as selecting objects, closing windows, opening hyperlinks, double-clicking, etc.
– press the right mouse button on the right side of the mouse to display a popup menu showing commands for a selected item.

Scrolling

Scroll bar

Scrolling

– sliding content up or down on a computer screen using a vertical scroll bar.
– sliding content left or right on a computer screen using a horizontal scroll bar.

– press and hold the left mouse button to grab an object (such as an icon on the desktop) and place it to a different location.

Laptop Touchpad

– an input device for laptop computers that is made up of a flat, touch-sensitive surface. It provides a way to move the cursor around the screen or give an instruction (highlight text, select and open applications, etc.).

Use a laptop touchpad (or trackpad)

Tap (click) – point an object on the screen and then tap on the trackpad to select items / commands, open menus / hyperlinks (links), or close windows.
Double tap (double click) – double tap on the trackpad on any folder, file, program, word, etc. to open / select it.
Drag and drop – double-tap the trackpad to grab an object and place it to a different location. Example: drag the selected text to the new location.
Right-click – tap two fingers anywhere on the trackpad to display a popup menu showing commands for a selected item.
Scrolling – tap two fingers on the trackpad and slide fingers up or down to scroll.
Select – swipe in from the left or right of the sentence or word (tap the right or left of the sentence or word and swipe towards the other side).

A touch pad is a device for pointing (controlling input positioning) on a computer display screen. It is an alternative to the mouse. Originally incorporated in laptop computers, touch pads are also being made for use with desktop computers. A touch pad works by sensing the user's finger movement and downward pressure.

The first touch pad was invented by George E. Gerpheide in 1988. Apple Computer was the first to license and use the touch pad in its Powerbook laptops in 1994. The touch pad has since become the leading cursor controlling device in laptops. Many laptops use a trackball. IBM ThinkPad laptops use a "pointing stick" (called a TrackPoint) that is set into the keyboard.

How the Touch Pad Works

The touch pad contains several layers of material. The top layer is the pad that you touch. Beneath it are layers (separated by very thin insulation) containing horizontal and vertical rows of electrodes that form a grid. Beneath these layers is a circuit board to which the electrode layers are connected. The layers with electrodes are charged with a constant alternating current (AC). As the finger approaches the electrode grid, the current is interrupted and the interruption is detected by the circuit board. The initial location where the finger touches the pad is registered so that subsequent finger movement will be related to that initial point. Some touch pads contain two special places where applied pressure corresponds to clicking a left or right mouse button. Other touch pads sense single or double taps of the finger at any point on the touch pad.

This was last updated in September 2005

Continue Reading About touch pad (touchpad)

Synaptics licenses its own touch pad technology to Apple Computer for their laptops. Synaptics also makes a touch pad for writing with finger or stylus as well as an application, Quickstroke, that captures Chinese handwriting from the touch pad.

Cirque is the largest maker of touch pads for the desktop computer market. Its GlidePoint touch pad lets you click by tapping any place on the pad

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What is the general name for a device with a flat rectangular surface which also senses movement of a finger on its surface?

- Touchpad/Trackpad - This is a flat rectangular surface that senses the movement of a finger. When you move your on the touchpad it causes a corresponding movement of the pointer.