Home Forums Peripherals & Multimedia Peripherals Magic Trackpad Sensitivity -- 2nd Fix

I'm posting this as a new topic since the battery fix for laptop trackpads per the previous thread doesn't apply to the free standing Magic Trackpad.



The trackpad is so sensitive, especially with single clicking, that you don't even have to touch the pad to register a tap. In addition, when you do tap, it seems that the least variation in pressure before you lift you finger back up can register as a second tap. I occasionally have similar trouble with gestures on my MacBookPro, but it's usually the opposite problem there, when a single tap won't register till you jiggle the cursor off and then back onto the target.

Sensitivity errors are especially noticeable -- and problematic -- when doing things like tapping (or trying not to tap!) the folder triangles in list view [Note, I'm not talking about spring loaded hovering]. A folder can drop down before your finger hits the trackpad, then close back up when you actually make the tap, If you hesitate in the wrong place, you can just as easily drop down folders you don't want. If you don't get that second tap just right, you end up closing it -- and then opening it again! Depending on how many files and/and or nested folders you're working with, navigation can get seriously confusing, and frustrating.

In other operations, like doing a two finger scroll, getting another finger too close to the pad sometimes registers as three fingers with irritating results.

You inevitably end up with your fingers in the air to keep them out of range, while you try to make really quick single taps. Aside from the ergonomic discomfort, it can still be hit and miss. You've got to get your cursor in the right spot, and then raise your finger up, which in turn makes aiming the tap without slipping off the target much harder. Slippage problems seem to be more frequent on the Magic pad than on a laptop, perhaps because of the larger size and angled surface. For reasons unrelated to this post, I think it would actually be easier to use if it were a little smaller.

It helps to dial the double click speed way down, but adjusting to a slow click and drag is a real..... drag. I've also completely disabled four finger gesturing, so that I can occasionally rest all my fingertips on the trackpad instead of having to keep them up in the air supported on a bent wrist. That's the instinctual position you end up assuming, and I'm having to train myself to set four fingers down on the pad simultaneously for some relief.

It would make a huge difference, if it were possible to adjust the sensitivity the way I can with my Wacom tablet (which suggests that it's a doable feature). I really, really like working with gestures! It's a huge boost in efficiency on my laptop where I doubt I'll ever use a mouse again. Alas, it's just as huge a disappointment with my desktop.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

There are many of us waiting eagerly for Alessandro Levi Montalcini's update to USBOverdrive which promises support for the multi-touch devices, but it is not available yet. In the meantime I have been using MagicPrefs due to a similar problem on the Magic Mouse but there is no support for either the trackpad or the Magic Trackpad. Have you tried JiTouch? It claims to work for the MacBook, MacPad, and Magic Mouse. I am not that crazy about the gesture options it offers, but there is a sensitivity setting that might do the trick for you.

Thanks! I'll check out JiTouch, et al. If nothing else, it's encouraging that there are third parties laboring in the salt mines that Apple often seems more interested in avoiding. I liked the trackpad on my new laptop so much, that I broke my own Rulz and went all early adopter on the new Magic Pad -- something I haven't done since OS8.

are you set to tap to click? can you turn that off?

If you turn off tap to click, is it still uber sensitive? may be a bad button internally. I see this from time to time with trackpads on unibody macbooks, there's a set screw under the battery that can get out of adjustment that controls sensitivity. (distance to click actually)