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MacBook Pro Trackpad

alexstein

alexstein

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 23, 2004
739
3
I picked up my MacBook Pro about a week ago.....and I have to say I really really like this machine.

However I really dislike the track-pad, especially it's scrolling function. Maybe I'm just to dumb to use the two finger scrolling functions but it seems rather hard to do and most the time I have to have at least two attempts to make it work.

I monkeyed around with the settings but it did not get much better.

Do you guys have any advise for me.

Maybe I just have to pick up a little bluetooth mouse for traveling.
 
For me, it took time to get used to guestures. I use only the vertically scroll and the 2 finger double click. I have a PB, but the actions are the same. Really, it took me 2 weeks to get used to it. Now I find it comfortable and with out thinking.

What do other people have their trackpad settings as?
 
I have the trackpad on my MacBook Pro set to allow 2-find scrolling both vertically and horizontally, as well as tap-clicking, dragging, and 2-finger right-click.

All of this is VERY natural to me, and I get frustrated using notebooks that don't allow this.

Not sure if it'll help any, but have you tried using your middle- and ring-fingers to scroll? At least on my hand they're closing to being the same length and make for very smooth and quick scrolling.
 
That's werid... I'd never owned a laptop until last month, and the only ones I'd ever used were pre-2-finger-scroll Apple trackpads.

Yet it took me about 30 seconds to get used to the 2-finger scrolling/2-finger right click on my MBP, and when I recently used a laptop without it it felt downright weird.

Guess it mostly has to do with the way your use your hands on it, but I move the pointer with my pointer, then when I want to scroll or right click just drop my middle finger down. Seems basically seamless to me.

I have noticed that, because of the size of the trackpad on the 17", I have a tendancy to bump it with my palms if my hands are on the keyboard, so I have "ignore accidental input" turned on. The only issue with that is I'll occasionally bump it while actually trying to scroll (one hand on the trackpad, the other on the keyboard for cut/copy/paste operations), which causes it to "die" because it's ignoring the accidental input for a second, or until I lift my hand and put it back down.
 
mmmcheese said:
I found that de-selecting "Ignore accidental trackpad input" helped a lot...
Click to expand...

De-selecting it causes my mouse cursor to move around spastically, as well as making it scroll the page as I type since I use 2-finger scrolling... making sure my palm isn't partially sitting on it is a very small price to pay to avoid a host of other annoyances by not having that enabled.
 
i have the most trouble with the right click thing... it always seems like the arrow gets moved when i try to put two fingers on the trackpad to click. and i dont have an external mouse, and im trying to play games. ..its ..a sight to see. haha.
 
my mbp always has a delayed response to scrolliing initially. it's quite irritating. so i start trying to scroll like crazy and the next second i'm at the bottom of the page :eek:
 
^^^I hear you. That what is happening to me as well^^^

I will give it some more time and practice. I guess the MBP is still very new to me.


I usually use my pointer and my middle finger. Ring and middle finger is to uncomfortable and not natural to me.
 
Got used to it instantly, same with the two finger click.

I agree, it feels too odd when using non-Apple laptops now as I am too used to using the features on their trackpads.
 
alexstein said:
^^^I hear you. That what is happening to me as well^^^

I will give it some more time and practice. I guess the MBP is still very new to me.


I usually use my pointer and my middle finger. Ring and middle finger is to uncomfortable and not natural to me.
Click to expand...

I use my left pointer and my middle :) It's easier to type one handed that way which I do occaisonally
 
Are you coming from Windows? For the most part, I had to go through a step of suspending disbelief and just trying things Apple's way before I got truly used to them. Like it took me a long time to start consistently using Exposé. And now I would never trade it in.

As for the trackpad, though...if you want it to act like a Windows laptop, you always do have that option in Sidetrack....
 
elbirth said:
De-selecting it causes my mouse cursor to move around spastically, as well as making it scroll the page as I type since I use 2-finger scrolling... making sure my palm isn't partially sitting on it is a very small price to pay to avoid a host of other annoyances by not having that enabled.
Click to expand...

I came from an iBook that didn't have this option, so with it deselected, it acts like a normal Apple trackpad. The trick is to keep your other fingers away from the pad. With most pads on windows machines (that I had before), as long as you're not touching the pad, you're ok. With the Apple pads, there's a proximity...so you just need to keep your extra fingers further away. I found leaving this setting checked makes it feel very slow and unresponsive.
 
I'd never owned an Apple notebook until this MBP and I am very pleased with the trackpad. It tracks very nicely and I jumped right in with the 2 finger scrolling without a hitch. I now prefer it over any other form of scrolling with other notebooks, such as the one finger scroll at the edge of the trackpad.

Seems to always work for me the first time too, never have any problems with it. I noticed that it recognizes your scroll movements a bit better if you keep your fingers closer together and make sure that you drag directly down as sometimes you have a tendency to drag your fingers sideways a bit.
 
I agree 100%. This is the first notebook that I've used that has had these trackpad features...and after using it, I dont see how I ever lived without it. I now hate using the Dell trackpad at work now.
steve_hill4 said:
Got used to it instantly, same with the two finger click.

I agree, it feels too odd when using non-Apple laptops now as I am too used to using the features on their trackpads.
Click to expand...
 
steve_hill4 said:
Got used to it instantly, same with the two finger click.

I agree, it feels too odd when using non-Apple laptops now as I am too used to using the features on their trackpads.
Click to expand...
Yeah my friend that lives upstairs in my apartment complex brought down his crappy ass Gateway laptop for me to see if I could fix his wireless and it has an uber tiny trackpad with crappy click buttons. I tried numerous times to use 2 finger scrolling and 2 finger right clicking, then it dawned on me that I wasn't using my sexy piece of machinery but someone elses complete garbage.
 
mmmcheese said:
I came from an iBook that didn't have this option, so with it deselected, it acts like a normal Apple trackpad. The trick is to keep your other fingers away from the pad. With most pads on windows machines (that I had before), as long as you're not touching the pad, you're ok. With the Apple pads, there's a proximity...so you just need to keep your extra fingers further away. I found leaving this setting checked makes it feel very slow and unresponsive.
Click to expand...

And you're using a MacBook Pro now?

I'm used to using an IBM Thinkpad, and the trackpad on it is TINY in comparison to what's on my MacBook Pro... plus it was kind of recessed, rather than flush with the rest of the surface, so it wasn't really a problem. My palms brush up against the trackpad too much which is what makes the cursor fly everywhere. I know I should probably keep my hands higher off of the keyboard, but it causes me to be much less accurate and slows my typing speed way down.
 
elbirth said:
And you're using a MacBook Pro now?

I'm used to using an IBM Thinkpad, and the trackpad on it is TINY in comparison to what's on my MacBook Pro... plus it was kind of recessed, rather than flush with the rest of the surface, so it wasn't really a problem. My palms brush up against the trackpad too much which is what makes the cursor fly everywhere. I know I should probably keep my hands higher off of the keyboard, but it causes me to be much less accurate and slows my typing speed way down.
Click to expand...

Give it a few weeks...next thing you know, you'll wonder how it could have possibly been a problem.

Took me a month to get used to my iBook trackpad back in the day...now I prefer the way it reacts (most PC ones just aren't sensitive enough for me).

(and yes, MBP now)
 
mmmcheese said:
Give it a few weeks...next thing you know, you'll wonder how it could have possibly been a problem.

Took me a month to get used to my iBook trackpad back in the day...now I prefer the way it reacts (most PC ones just aren't sensitive enough for me).

(and yes, MBP now)
Click to expand...


Well I've had my MacBook Pro since February... I just tried turning it off for a little bit, and the responsiveness of normally moving the mouse around was the same whether it's enabled or disabled.. so it's in my better interest to keep it enabled, I think...
 
elbirth said:
Well I've had my MacBook Pro since February... I just tried turning it off for a little bit, and the responsiveness of normally moving the mouse around was the same whether it's enabled or disabled.. so it's in my better interest to keep it enabled, I think...
Click to expand...


Hmm...how unfortunate.
 
mmmcheese said:
Hmm...how unfortunate.
Click to expand...

Mmmm, I don't know if this is a private conversation... :p But turning what on and off? One of the "ignore accidental" features? Or acceleration? (I guess I have to take the fact that Windows users are really not used to acceleration more seriously... I always used acceleration, even on Windows, and I just could not live with it!)
 
mkrishnan said:
Mmmm, I don't know if this is a private conversation... :p But turning what on and off? One of the "ignore accidental" features? Or acceleration? (I guess I have to take the fact that Windows users are really not used to acceleration more seriously... I always used acceleration, even on Windows, and I just could not live with it!)
Click to expand...

I never changed acceleration, but I did change the touch sensitivity on my old Inspiron 600m.

I rather like the Ignore Accidental Trackpad imput. It's so much easier for me rather than the other method (especially with gestures enabled). I honestly could not live without gestures, if you catch my drift. ;)
 
I couldn't use a computer much if not for my iBook trackpad. I use it to click with and to scroll. It's excellent.
 
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