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
    2013-04-25T20:12:06+00:00

    Yeah, that will work, too.

    BTW.: The method to edit the registry key mentioned above is much more practical.

    You can save the registry key for "off" and another one for "on" and then you can load the keys into regedit on demand (you have to start Regedit as Administrator).

    MS has yet to answer me why they removed that function (and why they dont put it back), if it is to protect tablet-users from themselves and loosing any means of input  they chould rather implement a check if a stylus or mouse is present and- if present- activate the switch and let the user choose like in W7. If touch is the only input, the the switch could be deactivated. Cant be too hard to implement.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-04-25T19:54:43+00:00

    You can disable your Touch device in Device Manager to achieve your purpose

    Click the + next to Human Interface Devices

    Right click HID-compliant devices and Tap Disable on each item listed in the menu

    Tap Yes when you see this message: “Disabling this device will cause it to stop functioning. Do you really want to disable it?”

    Once disabled, you will need a keyboard or mouse to control your tablet or touch device

    The option to disable touch input has been removed from Control Panel

    --- FYI "Bing It On"

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-04-25T19:48:06+00:00

    Worked for me, too until I dropped W8 again for another reason  but it is not anywhere as user-friendly as the switch before.But then, at least it works.

    ( reason to downgrade theh eeeslate EP 121: weird slow response time of the stylus click (and only the stylus, mouse is fine) in Mangastudio 4 EX when clicking on the Zoom-Button of the navigator, same in Photoshop 5.1-- W8 or alternatively the Wacom driver seem to produce a delay, a waiting-for-something in the installed "classic" apps , in W7 its perfect response time, in w8 its stylus-click, wait 5 Seconds, then Zoom)--

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-04-25T19:33:49+00:00

    Where did you get that? From Google or are you sitting in front of an W8 installation? All threads on Google regarding the question  are from W8 Beta, where the option was still existing.

    -unless Microsoft has  fixed it with an update within the last 4 weeks or so---  the option is not going to be there.

    Thats what the whole thread is about.

    If the option has magically appeared again please let me know (-> Microsoft has reinstalled the option with an update) and forgive my comment, ,  I have no working Windows 8 to check it myself  any more since I reinstalled Windows 7 on the slate

    (Mainly because of that missing option but also because W8 somehow managed to screw up interface response-time on certain interface-elements in Photoshop 5.1 and Mangastudio EX, slowing work down considerably by that-- and those are the apps I bought the tablet for, not for W8 so I downgraded again)

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