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'ExtraMagic' for Magic Trackpad: 3/4 Finger Gestures & More - Now in Windows!

I just donated to this software because I loved the way it worked before. But now I see something a bit strange with the 3-finger drag in the newest build.

Whenever I do a 3-finger drag and then let go of the trackpad, sometimes the cursor "jumps" a few pixels in a random direction upon release. This makes it hard to use the drag function for precision movements.

I am using Windows 10 64 bit with the original Trackpad. I checked the "Release 3-Finger Drag State w/o Delay" option, and the 1.5x option and Scroll Enhancement are unchecked.

The 3-finger drag used to work perfectly before, with no jumpiness at all upon release. Could you please advise? Thank you!
 
@santokki: Thank you for reporting (and for supporting the development!) Since the end of 2015 there were no code changes in the ExtraMagic for first-gen Magic Trackpad specifically. Neither accidental changes, nor made on purpose. In my opinion one possible reason of such behavior is the noisy (@2.4Ghz) radio environment. The way ExtraMagic utilizes the Bluetooth protocol for readout of the realtime raw trackpad data flow may make the Magic Trackpad less usable in noisy enviroment. It's only an assumption, but at least this sounds logical. Because if there are no changes in sources (and I assure there are no), yet the gesture precision is not the same anymore, it's either physics, or mystics ;)
 
Thanks for your response. I actually first downloaded the software around Sept 2015 and haven't used it since that time, until this past week. Have you made any changes since that time?

And regardless of whether or not it happened before (maybe I just didn't notice it before because I didn't use it that much), do you see the behavior I am talking about?

When you release a three-finger drag, there is sometimes a slight jump of a few pixels. Please let me know if you see the jumpiness. It only happens at the very end, upon release.

I drew some lines in Microsoft paint to illustrate what is happening. If you notice the ends of the lines, sometimes there is a slight up or down movement caused by the jumpiness.

Thanks for investigating! This software is perfect for my needs except for this issue.
 

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@santokki: yes, of course there were changes since September. I just responded to you via email, sent the test version where small square of finger is ignored for 3-finger drag. But have to tell, I did the paint test before and after, and to me the behavior of 3-finger drag was OK as is. Also there were no such reports from other people yet. Maybe something also depends on the very individual characteristic of the fingers, like if I play guitar too often the fingers definitely change. Please check and let us know :)
 
Hi Vladimir, thanks for the quick assistance! I tested out the new version you sent me, and it seems to help a lot. It doesn't completely eliminate the jump upon 3-finger release, but it seems to make it smaller, and sometimes it does eliminate the jump occasionally.

What seems to help the most is to start a 3-finger drag, and then release 2 fingers while still dragging. Usually there will be a small jump when the 2 fingers are released, which is ok because I am still dragging. Then I complete the drag using just one finger. When I let go with one finger, the jump is the least frequent.

I think the version you sent me works ok for general computing (moving windows around, etc). Why I am being so nitpicky is that I am trying to use the drag functionality to move vertices in 3D applications, so being very precise is necessary. Other than this tiny issue I am super happy with the Extramagic software.

I guess I could use my old trackpad for the 3D functionality if I have to, and Extramagic for everything else. But please let me know if there is anything else in the code you could possibly modify. Anyway, thanks again!
 
Hi Vladimir,

Thanks for the program. Before I send a donation I need to figure out a few things. First, I can't seem to make the one finger tap work for me though it is working on the Dell laptop (Windows 10) at work. I have a MagicTrackpad2 and successfully installed your software a couple of weeks ago. I'm definitely new to PCs, so this will help me function better on the Dell.

So, the one finger tap is a must, and I don't see it on the ExtraMagic preferences.

Next, I use a lot of two finger scrolling (again, works fine on the computer trackpad). Is this something that you can or will be adding to the software? Also, two finger swipe...use it a lot and would love to be able to go back or forward like we do on Macs. Coming software? I don't really use 3-finger or 4-finger gestures...yet. So really these simple things will make or break it for me.

Lastly, I got the notice of the update and installed it but am really unclear whether I need to go through the whole Post-installer download driver thing again.

Thanks in advance for your help.

PM
 
@pmbooks: 1-finger tap is there and shall be active by default. Please click the rhombus button in the ExtraMagic Settings app in order to access the shortcuts to all basic settings:


1-tap.png


2-finger scroll is also there and in fact cannot be DEactivated. As I understood, something went wrong, because the basic features do not work for you. Please note that those are only controlled through ExtraMagic Settings app, but they are actually the features of the Apple-provided Boot Camp driver (Step 1 of the ExtraMagic installer).
Maybe try to re-run the Step 1 of the installer, and then Step 2, to make sure all is installed properly.
 
Is there a way to get a middle-mouse-drag? (It's used a lot in Autodesk Maya.) Thank you!
 
@santokki: Not yet (middle-click is there, but it's the different thing). Just thinking out loud, in the future the 3-finger drag (which is currently used for 'left-drag' ExtraMagic gesture) can be made tuneable, so that the user can choose with what button to drag. So yes, definitely something to consider for the future, thank you.
 
Vladimir:

I just received a new Surface Book at work and am trying to get my 1st Gen Magic Trackpad to work with it. Step 1 succeeds and I can use the trackpad with the basic gestures. After running Step 2 (either once or twice), however, it stops responding. Windows Settings reports a driver error. Are there any known issues with the Surface Book? Or is there something else I can try?

Thank you.
 
@bjb: As reported by several different users, ExtraMagic is working with Magic Trackpad and Microsoft Surface Book. However, as we don't have such notebook, I cannot verify personally yet. Probably the EFI or system configuration your notebook does not allow the non-approved / unsigned drivers. Solution: find 'Secure Boot' option in BIOS/EFI, disable it, and reinstall the ExtraMagic again. Another (better) solution: request the Microsoft-cross-signed ExtraMagic driver component from us (already available to donators / project supporters, you can send us email for details). It's better to try the Secure Boot option first, to make sure the ExtraMagic really works for you.
 
What is the difference between this extra magick for trackpad and http://www.trackpadmagic.com/ ?

I am trying to use a magic trackpad 2 with a dell precision M4800 laptop
Apparently the laptop has a DW1550 Bluetooth 3.0 LE Broadcom driver version 12.0.0.7820 running Windows 8.1 64 bit
 
@diakonia: The difference between the ExtraMagic and the software you mentioned: that software installs and enables the standard 1/2-finger Boot Camp driver and controls for Magic Trackpad, those that you normally get in Windows with a 'Boot Camped' Mac.
Our ExtraMagic software does the same, plus enables the rich multi-touch gestures for 3 and 4 fingers, similar to those available with OS X. The ExtraMagic makes it possible to register the multi-touch gestures by using our custom-developed Bluetooth HID driver which communicates directly with the Magic Trackpad hardware. This makes the ExtraMagic the 'real thing', not just the repacked Boot Camp driver as offered from the URL you indicated. To summarize, with ExtraMagic you get much more, and get it for free.
 
@V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r: Have you considered building a driver for Linux?
I'd be quite interested in using one (and, obviously, donating :) specifically for MT2. I'm sure there are some other Linux users who would like to use Magic Trackpad 2, but, unfortunately, it only currently provides very basic mouse functionality under Linux (no scrolling, no gestures). Alternatively, are you able to share relevant portions of the source code such that other people are able to implement such a driver?
 
I used a Macbook for a while at a job and really liked all the trackpad options. So recently I got a trackpad (first gen) and tried Extramagic on Windows 10 (PC). I love that you can use 3/4 finger options. However it only works in test mode and I get a prompt to run step 2 again after disabling test mode. Also after some use, mouse pointer movement becomes very sluggish randomly. Opening the app and going to mouse options seems to help for a bit.

I'm currently using trackpadmagic instead and don't experience the sluggish mouse movement. However it doesn't offer any advanced options so it's not much better than using a regular mouse. I would love if the developers offered a (paid) version with signed drivers and more reliable mouse movement.
 
@tobo: The cross-signed driver component of the ExtraMagic is already available (to project supporters). You can contact me via email for details. Yes, the issue you had described actually exists, but it occurs no matter was ExtraMagic installed or not. This is the known bug of the Apple-provided Boot Camp driver, which occurs randomly, sometimes once in a week, sometimes one a day. The known workaround is to press the trackpad until it clicks, this helps to restore the pointer speed.
 
@V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r has there been any progress in your "experiments" with two-finger scrolling? Trackpadextramagic does everything I need it to do right now, but since two-finger scrolling is still handled by Apple's driver, it lacks basic niceties such as inertial scrolling.

(Incidentally, it's shocking to see that, as of today, there is NO counterpart to the Apple Magic Trackpad for PCs. Even Logitech has discontinued the excellent T650, and is not fully supporting it under Windows 10.)
 
V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r said:
@diakonia: The difference between the ExtraMagic and the software you mentioned: that software installs and enables the standard 1/2-finger Boot Camp driver and controls for Magic Trackpad, those that you normally get in Windows with a 'Boot Camped' Mac.
Our ExtraMagic software does the same, plus enables the rich multi-touch gestures for 3 and 4 fingers, similar to those available with OS X. The ExtraMagic makes it possible to register the multi-touch gestures by using our custom-developed Bluetooth HID driver which communicates directly with the Magic Trackpad hardware. This makes the ExtraMagic the 'real thing', not just the repacked Boot Camp driver as offered from the URL you indicated. To summarize, with ExtraMagic you get much more, and get it for free.
Click to expand...

One one things this other software does is to disable drag lock, which I haven't found a way to disable it just by installing the boot camp drivers. In any case I would prefer to use your software and I tried again the latest release but it still doesn't work with my internal BT adapter. Can you confirm that there are still incompatibility problems with some internal BT modules? And why does this other software work with my BT and extramagic doesn't?

Thanks for providing a free software.
 
@xxtraloud: Our custom-developed Bluetooth HID driver component communicates directly with the Magic Trackpad hardware. Yes, it's working best mostly with the Broadcom Bluetooth chipsets (and some others), but may not be compatible with the rest. The Bluetooth protocol is a very specific thing, so the brief explanation cannot be given, sorry. The other software you mentioned doesn't use any drivers, it simply configures trackpad-as-mouse according to Apple-provided Boot Camp driver properties. So Apple somehow made this compatible with other Bluetooth adapters. Apple makes this hardware, so definitely they know how to do it... And we don't...

@Marciano: No inertia or other scroll mods for Magic Trackpad 2 yet. But as you know all other features of the ExtraMagic (gestures for 3 and 4 fingers) are available. Let's hope the next Windows update (Redstone) will finally bring the pixel-fine scroll to all apps, something the Windows platform is still missing comparing to OS X. having this feature, the mods which match OS X scroll feeling would become possible.
 
Thanks vladimir, do you know if there is a way to disable drag lock without using the other software? Maybe via registry?
 
Hey Vladimir,

I just got a magic trackpad 1 to use temporarily with my PC until I get a new Macbook. I installed the bootcamp drivers (my trackpad was working fine up to this point) but when I proceeded to step two and let the computer restart, my bluetooth panel would say driver error. I read from the posts on here that this may be an issue with secure boot.

I went in to secure boot and was about to disable it when it gave me a prompt saying something along the lines of "disabling secure boot may prevent your operating system from booting or being able to reinstall it" which scared me away from disabling it. I'm running Windows 10 and have heard Microsoft has made secure boot a bit more stringent. Is it safe for me to disable secure boot?
 
@silent angel123: Most of the older PCs do not even have such option. There is nothing to be scared of. Also, if the ExtraMagic works for you without Secure Boot, later you can consider requesting the Microsoft-cross-signed driver component of ExtraMagic (currently available on project supporters' demand). And there will be no need to manipulate the Secure Boot anymore.
 
Stuck in test mode on Windows 10 x64. Nothing about CSR in my Device Manager for Bluetooth. How do I uninstall? It's showing unavailable in the add/remove programs.
 
@Fmstrat: As tested weekly, when a new build is usually published (and I just re-checked on a fresh system to confirm), two entries in 'Programs and Features' must be deleted: 'ExtraMagic' and 'Windows Driver Package - ExtraMagic Mouse'. Inability to remove can be somehow connected to unsuccessful installation. Could you provide some more detailed information about your setup experiences with ExtraMagic, and about your computer / Bluetooth.
 
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