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I just got a new Windows 8 laptop, but it doesn't have a touchscreen, and it seems like a lot of the gestures are designed for touchscreens, and not current mice & touchpads. Is there a way to use the new gestures on my laptop's touchpad?

fixer1234
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MatthewSot
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3 Answers3

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Yes, there will be, but the drivers haven't been released yet (the thinking is that they'll be released on October 26th, when the first Windows 8 devices are released).

Synaptics is including the following Windows 8 gestures in its Synaptics Gesture Suite 12.3 & up:

Synaptics Windows 8 Gestures

The SGS 12.3 driver should come with your Windows 8 laptop. If it's not included with your laptop, locate the driver download pages for your laptop manufacturer (such as HP, Dell, or Lenovo) and download the driver for your Synaptics touchpad.

nhinkle
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MatthewSot
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    This is a good start given the information that's available right now. Eventually it'd be good to expand it to document the gestures individually, and talk about options for other touchpad manufacturers. – nhinkle Aug 24 '12 at 01:57
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Another option for gestures that's coming out soon is the Leap Motion, which will emulate touch gestures. It's a $70 usb-sized device that recognizes hand gestures with extraordinary accuracy (it blows Kinect out of the water). From their about page:

Do you support windows?

Yes! We also support native touch emulation for Windows 8.

Caleb Jares
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Another alternative to the touchpad while waiting for its drivers is the Microsoft Touch Mouse. It just got updated with new drivers a couple of days ago and supports up to 3 finger swipes.

Really awesome to move around windows 8 with: http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/en-us/p/touch-mouse#windows-8

I would say it is a lot nicer to use than your trackpad will eventually be :).

cmplieger
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