How to set-up and use multi-touch gestures on the Chromebook Touchpad
Chromebooks have a reputation for quality touchpads. Google ensures that each Chromebook has a good enough touchpad because Chrome OS is heavily loaded with touchpad functionality. Let us take a look at the things you can do with your Chromebook touchpad.
Setup your touchpad
Chrome OS provides the option of customizing your touchpad based on your needs. Follow these basic steps to setup your touchpad according to your needs on Chrome OS :-
On the right side of the shelf at the bottom, there’s an options menu where you can access Wi-fi and bluetooth options, among other things. In the options menu, click on Settings.
In Settings, scroll down to Device.
Here’s a list of features that you can customize for your convenience.
Touchpad Speed
Does it feel like the pointer is moving too fast, or is too sensitive to your touch? You can change the speed of the pointer. Under Device, you can adjust the slider in Touchpad Speed to increase or decrease the pointer speed.
Tap to Click
Chrome OS provides the option to enable or disable the feature that registers clicks by just tapping on the touchpad. You can enable/disable this based on your convenience by clicking on Touchpad Settings under Device.
Scrolling Options
All Chromebook touchpads support two-finger scrolling. Traditional scrolling means that you can swipe up on the touchpad to scroll upwards on a page, and swipe down to scroll downwards. Australian Scrolling is the exact opposite. You can choose between the two by going to Settings > Device > Touchpad Settings as shown below.
Touchpad Gestures for Chrome OS
Chrome OS supports a variety of touchpad gestures. Once you get a hold of these gestures, work starts to seem a lot faster. From switching tabs to creating new ones, Chrome OS is equipped with some of the most convenient gesture functions. Here are all the things you can do with the Chromebook touchpad :-
Scrolling
To scroll vertically on a page, swipe up or down on the touchpad with two fingers. To scroll horizontally, swipe left or right in the same manner.
Open in New Tab
To open a link in a new tab, all you have to do is click the link by tapping the touchpad with three fingers.
Switch between Tabs
This is by far the most unique and convenient gesture in Chrome OS. To change tabs inside Chrome, swipe left or right on the touchpad with three fingers. Changing tabs doesn’t get any easier than this.
Go back or forward in Chrome
You can go back to the previous page or forward to the next page in a tab by simply swiping left or right respectively on the touchpad with two fingers.
See all open windows
You can see all open windows on the same screen by using the Window Switcher key (on top of the number 6 key) on the keyboard, or by swiping down on the touchpad with three fingers. Chrome OS shows the live preview of each window in this mode, which can be very helpful at times. To get back to one window, either click on a single window or swipe up on the touchpad with three fingers.
These are all the things you can do with your Chromebook touchpad. It takes time to get used to the gestures, but once you get into the habit, it becomes impossible to live without them.
