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BUbro90

macrumors newbie
Jun 19, 2009
24
0
This may seem like an absurdly stupid question...but tap-to-click requires one finger tap, right? Because mine isn't working. I'm tapping the upper half of the touch pad, but nothing is working. Any help...I'm a first-time mac user. Can you tell? :D
 

eeriephenomenon

macrumors member
Sep 24, 2006
40
0
Miami, Fl
This may seem like an absurdly stupid question...but tap-to-click requires one finger tap, right? Because mine isn't working. I'm tapping the upper half of the touch pad, but nothing is working. Any help...I'm a first-time mac user. Can you tell? :D



I don't have my mac in front of me to double check but im pretty sure there is an option to turn this on within system preferences->trackpad
 

t3heford

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 1, 2009
60
0
I don't understand what the MacBook has to process in the delay. I'm not asking it to read my mind, I just want it to act immediately. No?
 

Corrode

macrumors 65816
Dec 26, 2008
1,003
2,297
Calgary, AB
I used to be an all out tap-to-click person on my Bro's Blackbook, but ever since I got my 13" Macbook Pro I've quickly converted to click-to-click. This trackpad is making me never need/want a mouse again.

Just try the click. Com'on. Just try it. First time's free...
 

eeriephenomenon

macrumors member
Sep 24, 2006
40
0
Miami, Fl
I don't understand what the MacBook has to process in the delay. I'm not asking it to read my mind, I just want it to act immediately. No?


Well, as im sure its been said before... i believe the delay is to weed out the accidentals. Like accidentally clicking twice or accidentally letting go of the track pad while dragging... i guess you can call it a safety feature. Not everyone is as technology inclined as most of us here so Apple and other manufactures put that into account.
 

Panzo

macrumors 6502
Nov 28, 2006
271
0
The delays are absolutely normal and a crucial part of both one finger tap to click and dragging. Let me explain.

Dragging: The delay is needed/designed as to allow the user to have enough time to lift and reposition his or her finger incase he or she runs out of trackpad before the icon or object is effectively "dropped" Try it, start dragging something then lift your finger briefly then put it back on the trackpad and continue dragging it.

Tap to Click: The reason why there is a noticeable delay difference when dragging is enabled as opposed to when its not is because this is needed to give the user enough time to tap the trackpad twice in order to start the dragging action.. Imagine there wasn't that delay, you'd have to hit the trackpad pretty damn fast in order to have it register two touches in such a short time.
 

remerge

macrumors newbie
Jul 1, 2009
8
0
Panzo,

Dragging: There should be an option to disable the temporary enabling of drag-lock after removing your finger from the trackpad after dragging an item. I'm not a senior citizen where I can run out of trackpad space. My 'tracking speed' is set very high so it's unlikely for me to run out of trackpad space when dragging.

Tap-to-click delay: If that's how they designed it then they designed it wrong. All PC notebooks I've owned never introduced a delay for single-taps. What you are saying is that the delay is there so that the Macbook can recognize a double-tap (double-click). A double-tap is easily recognized without having the Dragging option enabled. So it's a design bug on their end. Again, PC notebooks do not introduce delays when dragging is enabled (which is so by default). The way Apple engineers designed it is completely wrong.
 

Bazzy

macrumors 6502
Jun 8, 2009
294
10
Hi All,

I have a 17" June 2009 2.8 UMBP and the trackpad acts really funny - it does all sorts of strange things - just resizes things, rotates things, sometimes highlights everything blue, locks up or delays, jumps around so you miss what you want and open up or go place you do not want to etc, does nor wake up the sleep or get out of screen saver or display sleep mode etc.

Is there a way I can calibrate the trackpad? the trackpad pane is system preferences does not offer this mode like it did on my older MBP. What else can I do to get it working correctly - it is a right pain in the backside as it is!


Bazzy!
 

remerge

macrumors newbie
Jul 1, 2009
8
0
Brazzy, funny you picked this thread. This usually occurs when "Dragging". Disable the "Dragging" option under Trackpad settings in "System Preferences". Does that help?

This is because after you lift your finger after dragging an item, you're still in drag mode for around a second or less. Try it out, do you see what I mean?

Another reason why there should be an option to disable this 'feature'.
 

remerge

macrumors newbie
Jul 1, 2009
8
0
sporadicMotion, try this:

Enable "Dragging" and then keep on clicking the left and right arrow buttons next to the "Show All" button in the same window. Then disable dragging and do the same; go back and forth for a bit; you should be able to notice the delay.
 

Panzo

macrumors 6502
Nov 28, 2006
271
0
The delay is there and not that noticeable imo, if you have to complain about it your a wanker, enough said, return the machine if your that upset about and buy a 2 or 3 dells ktnzx
 

m85476585

macrumors 65816
Feb 26, 2008
1,226
4
Wow. I just disabled tap to drag on my old MBP, and my whole computer feels snappier! I never consciously noticed the delay, but once I read this thread, it was very obvious that tap to click was slower than clicking the button. With tap to drag off, it looks just as fast either way. Thanks!
 

student_trap

macrumors 68000
Mar 14, 2005
1,879
0
'Ol Smokey, UK
this is actually an issue, I have had a laptop replaced for this, and fyi, i did of course disable tap to drag...it was still very laggy. Other trackpads are instant.
 

Mac7

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2009
833
94
here's my question, how the HELL do you notice .25 of a second?
 

martinmartin

macrumors 6502
Jun 5, 2007
435
1
i dont see why everyone is giving the original poster such a hard time.

i have also noticed that the new trackpad doesnt work all that great. i have a new june uMBP and i ended up seeing this thread because i searched 'drag lock' - i wanted to see if other people thought it was broken too.

i have noticed 3 things that bother me about the trackpad:
1) tap to click is not consistent - sometimes it clicks, sometimes it doesnt. it seems to work better when my thumb isnt resting on the track pad, but my thumb usually IS resting on the track pad... I dont think this is a 'feature.'
2) drag lock - i have it turned off, but like others have noticed, it still kicks in sometimes. i guess you have to lift your finger for a period of time before the lock turns off. this is annoying.
3) tap to click delay - in reading this thread, i learned you can get rid of the thread by turning off dragging, but i use dragging all of the time...

I'm hoping Apple will fix these issues with software updates - or at least allow more control over them. But I'm not holding my breath...
 

Trivial rock

macrumors regular
Oct 9, 2008
155
1
I am inclined to agree with other posters here, I honestly notice NO lag in the tap to click function. :)
I do agree with you that the delay for drag lock is annoying. However since I cant think of any other way to implement drag lock with the tap function it is something you can either learn to live with, or in my case I simply click on the track pad when I wish to drag. Sorted :cool:
 

Ryken

macrumors newbie
Jun 10, 2009
22
0
you have to have the delay in case you run out of touchpad space before whatever you're moving is to its final destination. The delay is VERY PRECISE because it gives you just enough time to pick up your finger, move it to the other side of the trackpad, and continue moving whatever you are dragging. Yes, sometimes you will accidently move something because you didn't give it enough time, but you should be able to adjust to this.

If it completely ruins the entire product, then I suggest getting some counseling because you are way too obsessive. This is like saying you need to buy a brand new car because the wipers turn on by pushing the left lever up and not down. Just get used to it already.
 

runebinder

macrumors 6502a
Apr 2, 2009
904
121
Nottingham, UK
Wow, quite puzzled reading this thread. Had only used Windows notebooks up till this year, can't believe people are complaining about the MBP trackpad ands comparing how it's not as good as some touchpads. Are you guys insane? One of the things that always put me off notebooks was touchpads. If using a windows based lappy, I have to use a mouse when using one as they're so awful, the space is too small, and the response for cursor movement is generally sluggish.

The Apple trackpad is the only one that doesn't have me immediately reaching to plug my mouse in. Good area size, multi touch input, but boo hoo the response time is 0.25 seconds if drag lock is turned on. Get a grip, the trackpad is way in advance of the competition.
 

Jeffrosproto

macrumors 6502
Jun 10, 2008
458
26
I couldn't stand having tap-to-drag on, but it was mainly because it kept misinterpreting my movements as drags.
 

martinmartin

macrumors 6502
Jun 5, 2007
435
1
You guys don't have the problem where the 'tap to click' registers sometimes and not other times??

For example, say I highlight a sentence somewhere in this thread as if I'm going to Copy it, then I decide not to copy so I 'tap to click' anywhere outside of the highlighted text - when the tap registers, the highlight should go away.

Well, sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Like I said earlier, if my thumb isn't on the trackpad, then it works. But if my thumb is resting on the trackpad, then it's hit or miss.

This gets pretty frustrating. I'm sure people will say 'lift up your thumb,' but it's hard to teach old dogs new tricks...
 
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