Windows 8 Trackpad Gestures - Synaptics

Hey All,

Just had my new XPS 14 delivered. Installed the Windows 8 release preview and am wondering if there is anyway to get trackpad drivers that support Windows 8 gestures.

Like many of you, I have seen the Synaptics video on their gestures (ie. right edge swipe brings up charms menu) but I cannot get it to work on this trackpad. Will this trackpad even been compatible?

Thanks in advance

Responses(3)

like_a_wombat

17 Posts

0

August 21st, 2012 19:00

What version drivers are you using? I've only seen v15 or less from Dell. Synaptics site only lists the v15.2. I'm using 16.1.6 I downloaded from Toshiba: you have to extract then install via device manager browsing for the inf file, not running the exe. It sends WM_MOUSEWHEEL messages in more places than the 15.x drivers, so is better with Visual Studio 2012. It's not perfect though, scroll in OneNote requires the cursor to be over the scrollbar, where-as a wheel mouse doesn't. In windows 8 this driver does horizontal scroll on the start screen when you do vertical scroll on the touchpad, as would be the case with a wheel mouse. I don't think it has the swipe to bring up charms though. I think some of that will come later (perhaps with scrybe).

Unfortunately I can't find windows 8 specific touchpad drivers on Dell's site or on the manufacturer Synaptics' site, but other laptop vendors such asToshiba and Gigabyte have released the newer v16 drivers.

DELL-Rajath N

4 Operator

•

1.8K Posts

0

August 22nd, 2012 05:00

Hi m7gariepy,

Since Windows 8 is still in the preview stage, Synaptics may not have released the drivers for the TrackPad. We recommend you to wait till the full version of Windows 8 is released for the availability of the drivers. However, you can try installing the Windows 7 drivers from our web site and check if you can use the gestures. This may or may not work with the gestures.

To download the drivers, visit the following page:

http://support.dell.com/

1. Click on “Find Drivers, BIOS, and other updates .”

2. On the next page, enter the Service Tag or Express Service Code in the Yes section and click “Submit.”

3. In the drivers download page, select the Operating System as Windows 7 64-bit and click on “Input.”

4. Navigate to the driver that has Synaptics TouchPad listed and download it by clicking on “Download File.”

I hope you find this useful. If you need further assistance, please reply to this message.

m7gariepy

2 Posts

0

August 22nd, 2012 22:00

@like_a_wombat

Thanks for the reply. Yes - I am using 15.x drivers at the moment (the ones from Synaptics, not dell)

I haven't had a chance to head to the Toshiba site yet, but I am really looking for this: www.synaptics.com/.../windows8 - which is the "Gesture Suite" for Windows 8.

I'll confess - I am a pretty dedicated MS fan (I even have a WP7) - but the touch promised in this video is the ONLY thing that kept me from biting the bullet and buying a MacBook. The touchpad experience on my colleagues MacBooks is just so nice (3 finger sweep for switching multiple desktops in particular) that I figured Win8 would have to deliver on this big time. And in the above demo - they have.

I am getting concerned though - every search I have done, including with the MSDN enterprise release, everyone is reporting that advanced gestures is not supported yet. If Synaptics is sitting on this gesture suite, why not release as a beta along with MS and get some real testing done before the general release on Oct. 26. It looks pretty close to complete in the videos, and people report them installed on early test machines, but nothing yet from Dell.

And presently, with the release preview installed on this brand-new i7 500GB ssd laptop from Dell (with the promise of a 14.99 win8 upgrade, mind you), my windows experience index page reports "Limited trackpad functionality with 10 touch points" ----> does this mean that the synaptics video I see in the above link won't work on my machine?

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Windows 8 Trackpad Gestures - Synaptics