Problems typing text; jumps to mouse cursor

[Punkrulz]

Wow... another strange problem I've been posed with. This is what I am calling "pre-emptive troubleshooting". My friend has reported to me that he has a laptop (looked up model; newer laptop). He has this problem where whenever he is typing, no matter what the application is, no matter where he is typing, during the typing his line cursor signifying where the letters will go will jump from it's current position to where the mouse cursor is; then start typing there.

I have never heard of this before. I mean say he is typing in these forums, in a box exactly like the one I am typing to you on. If he has his cursor on the right side of the box, and as usual as you type your words go from left to right, his cursor could jump to right where the mouse is, and start typing there... this causes extremely large gaps in his message and messes sentences up.

Has anyone heard of anything similar to this before? I sure haven't, but I would like to fix it for him. This happens on every single application, and he does not have any sort of other random application running.

 

[fitz]

just as a test, try hooking an external mouse and disabling the touchpad..

 

[Sazar]

Sounds like accidental input from the touchpad tbh.

Fitzy's solution should address his accidental clicks with the touchpad (little pressure on the touchpad == click and the cursor will therefore automatically be positioned there post-click).

 

[fitz]

yup.. i agree that is sounds like accidental brushing of the touchpad.. so, try disabling it and see if that gets rid of the issues.. then you've narrowed it down and you tell your friend to learn how to keep his hands curled like you're supposed to anyway when you type.. or keep using an external mouse

 

[Punkrulz]

Haha yeah guys will do, I thought that is what it was too, however he swears that it isn't... we'll see how it goes.

 

[saeltmarae2k]

Haha yeah guys will do, I thought that is what it was too, however he swears that it isn't... we'll see how it goes.

FWIW, I've seen that very thing with a few Toshiba laptops...a touchpad driver update fixed it in each case (nothing to do with brushing the surface).

 

[X-Istence]

That is why I always disable the tap to click feature.

 

[Sazar]

I wonder if it's a sensor issue with the touchpad (I've noticed input on some systems just with pressure AROUND the touchpad).

And X, tap to click is a life saver.

I guess you're one of those people who disables T9 on their phones and types everything in manually :smoker:

 

[NetRyder]

And X, tap to click is a life saver.

I really like tap-to-click too.
In fact, I've got tap-zones setup on my Synaptics touchpad, so I can also right-click and middle-click without the physical buttons. Can't even remember the last time I used those buttons, actually.

 

[Punkrulz]

FWIW, I've seen that very thing with a few Toshiba laptops...a touchpad driver update fixed it in each case (nothing to do with brushing the surface).

That may also be the case with the dell if they utilize the same touchpad. I discussed it with my friend, he said that he's usually aware where his hands are, and they aren't near the mouse pad. He'll note next time it happens if it's possible his thumb is hitting the pad... we'll see. I suggested to him to hook up an external mouse, and disable the mouse pad, and see if the problem continues. I'll keep you guys informed.