Double tap to left click and drag on trackpad

Anonymous
2013-10-25T13:45:34+00:00

Hello, I was trying to find a way to click and drag by using the Type Cover 2 trackpad without keeping the left mouse button pressed. Most touchpads nowadays register a rapid double click as a "left click and drag" command and, according to the documentation on Microsoft's website, the Type Cover 2 should as well. However, I tried to use the feature both in Desktop programs and UI apps with no success. How to left click and drag without keeping the trackpad's left mouse button pressed?

Edit: called the customer service, and I was told that the team is aware of the issue and that a fix is planned.

Surface | Surface Pro | Power and battery

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Anonymous
2014-04-09T01:07:12+00:00

With 8.1 update 1, type/touch cover 2 can now perform double tap-drag. All hail lord Microsoft.

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Anonymous
2013-11-21T02:57:03+00:00

Greetings all,

The “Tap, then tap and slide one finger in any direction"  gesture to perform a “left-click and drag” is not supported in Windows 8.1 for precision touchpads such as Touch Cover 2 and Type Cover 2.

The “left-click and drag” function can be performed on Touch Cover 2 and Type Cover 2 by holding the left touchpad button down and then sliding a finger in any direction.

We’ll be updating the inaccurate information in Touchpad: A built-in mouse.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-02-11T10:29:47+00:00

    Here's a temporary autohotkey hack that lets your tilde button simulate a left click from the mousepad. With this you just hover your pointer over the item you want to drag, then click and hold the tilde button.

    SC029::LButton

    :*?OK150:dsee::

    Send SC029

    return

    If you don't know how to use autohotkey, just do this:

    1. download and install autohotkey from autohotkey.com
    2. paste the script in a text file and rename it to "script.ahk".
    3. double click the file once you save it. it should show up in your task bar from here and you can right click the icon for more goodies if you want

    Alternatively, you can download the script from here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/rlhnqlw95igi0zz/tilde_click.ahk

    Just make sure you have autohotkey installed to be able to run the thing.

    Tilde button is this one:

    perfect this is a great workaround .......thanks ewiggle

    once you have done the above simply paste a shortcut of autohotkey into the start-up folder and then you don't need  start it manually .......when you turn on the computer the hotkey automatically works for you ..........

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-02-12T20:54:17+00:00

    perfect this is a great workaround .......thanks ewiggle

    once you have done the above simply paste a shortcut of autohotkey into the start-up folder and then you don't need  start it manually .......when you turn on the computer the hotkey automatically works for you ..........

    Today's firmware update didn't seem to fix the problem on the Surface Pro, did it fix it on Surface Pro 2?

    I was an initial "early complainer", but I'm now getting used to the 2 hand substitute.  I've used the tilde key method as above or use my left hand to hold the "left click" button on the trackpad and use my right hand to move the cursor.  It's actually not so bad and in some ways is a little more precise than the one hand "click-drag-click drop" maneuver on this tiny trackpad.

    While I don't really like it, to me it's not a deal breaker as suggested by other posts on this board.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-02-13T14:22:44+00:00

    No, the firmware update made no difference in trackpad functionality on the Surface Pro 2, either.

    I believe that it's just a driver update that's needed to restore or add this function to the trackpad.

    I don't consider it to be a dealbreaker, either, but it is certainly my biggest complaint with the system.  It would be one thing if this were a feature that was on some trackpads, but not all of them; however, it has really become a universal standard and because of that, it being missing here is a big deal.

    To me, it's rather like they released the keyboard without the shift keys and instead force you to select the capital function using a gesture on the touchscreen.  Would it work, yeah, but it's not standard and it would slow down most typists considerably.  Why change or omit something that is so well known and accepted as standard behavior.

    I guess I'm kind of a glass half full guy as I'm still hoping that Microsoft will fix this, but with every passing day, I'm starting to lose a little bit of that hope.  Soon there won't be any left.  <Sigh>

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