How do you disable finger input in Windows 8?

Anonymous
2012-10-29T13:08:11+00:00

From what I understand, disabling finger input in earlier builds of Windows 8 was as simple as it was in Windows 7. But with the release of Windows 8 last week, this is no longer the case, and that solution no longer exists. Was it moved to a more obscure location or removed entirely? To be clear, I (and many others) am looking to disable finger input while still maintaining stylus functionality.

Hopefully, if it is as impossible as it seems, a fix will be on the way within the week. The lack of this feature has nearly converted my tablet to nothing more than a neat toy. I have to strap cardboard to my hand so that resting it on the screen doesn't make my cursor flip out while I'm trying to work in Flash!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Search, touch, and mouse

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Anonymous
2012-10-30T08:29:14+00:00
  1. Yes, exactly. In Windows 7, the option is in plain sight in the Pen and Touch settings. In Windows 8 the option is no longer there.
  2. Yes, I'm looking to disable finger input while still being able to use the stylus for input. Most of the options I found only disable the touch screen entirely.
  3. It's a Samsung 7 Series Slate PC, model number XE700T1A-A01US.

Thanks for your assistance in advance! I was actually able to find a working solution with some extra digging, which unfolded in a thread over here. Although, this causes some major faults like being unable to use input at all on screens like the login screen (for some reason, no stylus support there). So of course, a much more elegant and direct route to the option would be just incredible for the artists like myself looking for this feature.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-02-22T17:59:09+00:00

    The GUI option is gone but you can do this:

    1. Open Regedit
    2. Browse to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Wisp\Touch
    3. Modify TouchGate to 0 (0=disable touch)
    4. Logoff
    5. When you log in, touch should be disabled but the stylus still work
    6. If it is still enabled, try a reboot

    You could potentially, export 0 and 1 values and run them as needed and logon/off.

    Not as elegant but should work.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-02-20T13:31:51+00:00

    I own a Asus EP121 as well , and we really need the taskbar shortcut to touc/pen control menu to disable the touch in less than 2 seconds , becuase we need to work with stylus .

    I mean , there is no point to REMOVE a future when you release a windows , is there?

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-12-29T07:55:48+00:00

    Hello,

    I have a Sony Duo 11 and I really do not like the touch input get into the way when I only want the stylus input.  So bad that Sony and Microsoft do not provide an utility to turn off the touch input manually.  For now, if you really want to get rid of the touch input you can disable one of the HID-compliant devices using the Device Manager.  On my machine, the fourth HID-compliant device is the touch screen device. Hope this help.

    I wish that Microsoft will put Windows 7's tablet PC input panel into Windows 8.  I really think most stylus users prefer the floating (and smaller) input panel.

    Cheers,

    PBWS

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  4. Anonymous
    2012-11-24T05:08:50+00:00

    I have similar wish, too:

    Microsoft should implements a manual or automatic way to deactivate finger input. Windows Journal used to be my favorite note taking desktop app but now it treats finger and pen in the same way; resting palm on the screen produces all sort of marks in the notes. Natural handwriting is no longer possible as I have to keep the pen very close to (or on) the screen before I can rest my palm on the screen. Anytime Note (a Windows store app) does not suffer from this, though. This means that there should be a way to either deactivate finger input at app level or for the whole OS.

    Both Acrobat Pro XI and pdf Annotator suffer the same problem as Windows Journal: when annotating a pdf file, it cannot distinguish pen from finger touch, making annotation a pain. Another problem I encountered with pdf Annotator is that two-finger panning does not work. I was told that Microsoft is aware of the bug but is not fixing it.

    Windows 8 tablets are supposed to be for more professionally-inclined users. I read and annotate a lot of pdf files and also write a lot of ink notes. I am sure many people, among which are many researchers, students, lawyers, artists, designers, use tablets in a similar if not the same way. If Microsoft is serious about tablet, it should really fix the problems with pen and touch, as pen is one of those things that make a Windows tablet superior. I think Microsoft should focus on the correct market and builds on its strength. If you make entertainment a top priority for Windows tablets, you need to penetrate a market with millions ipads; that is difficult. But if you make productivity a top priority, you will capture the market where tablets are first for productivity and second for entertainment.

    I am a long-time windows tablet user and have just got a new Sony Duo 11 Windows 8 tablet. I also have a third generation ipad. Reading pdfs on ipad is very pleasant as apps like pdf expert and goodreader are well-designed and well thought-out apps. But annotation with a capacitive stylus is cumbersome. If Microsoft is not fixing the above mentioned problems, many people will probably go for a laptop with ipad as companion device. Then they'll have less reason to upgrade to windows 8.

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