How to disable gestures (charms bar, edge swipes, etc...) without changing the registry

Anonymous
2012-12-23T17:49:41+00:00

I've had a Windows 8 laptop for a few days and the charms bar/settings pages that kept popping up out of nowhere were driving me absolutely insane.  BUT, I finally figured out how to turn them off. 

I went into control panel>hardware and sound>mouse>device settings>settings.  From there you can adjust a lot of the trackpad settings, including DISABLE EDGE SWIPES. 

I have a Toshiba Satellite with a synaptics mouse/trackpad, so i cant guarantee this works with all models, devices, etc. 

Windows 8 for laptop is now tolerable!  Hope this helps!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Devices and drivers

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2013-05-23T18:33:46+00:00

Try this; maybe it will work:

Control Panel>Mouse>UltraNav>TouchPad Settings>Application Gestures>Edge Swipes>Deselect “Enable Edge Swipes”

Was this answer helpful?

10+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

199 additional answers

Sort by: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2015-03-25T06:31:37+00:00

    Lenovo Yoga Pro

    1. Open the Control Panel 

      (RIGHT click the windows icon in the lower left corner of the screen and select "Control Panel" from the menu that appears)

    The "Control Panel" will appear

    2. In the upper right of the Control Panel, select either View by: "Small icons" or "Large icons"

       (If you stay in the default View by: Categories, you'll go crazy trying to move forward!)

    3. Click on the mouse icon "Mouse"

       The "Mouse Properties" window will appear

    4. Select the "Device Settings" tab

    5. Click the "Settings..." button in the middle on the right side of the window

    WAIT - the next window my not appear quickly

       The "Synaptics Control Panel" will appear (it may take a moment)

    6. On the "One Finger" tab, deselect/uncheck "Enable Edge Swipes"

       (Its at the top of the lower section)

    7. Click "OK" at the bottom of the window.

    8. Rejoice! Your pain has ended.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2015-03-25T17:42:38+00:00

    Does not work with an Elan settings, you have to go into the registry and set all settings to(1) it will bring up additional fields.

    Here is what finally worked to kill the bottom right corner if you have an elan touchpad: go into the registry by run/ regedit.exe/ software/elan touchpad/SmartPadDisplay change the entire list of settings to number 1.  Then open the elan properties on your control panel, go to options, the new settings will bring up additional fields that may not be on your normal settings list, disable anything related to edge swipes, set sensitivity to lower setting, even if you think you have done it with edge swipes displayed prior. Click out of your registry- Done. The only way the charms bar comes up is if you dive deep a few times to bring it up on the bottom right, but it will not appear with normal swipes across the very bottom right corner. In fact sometimes it never comes up. The point is getting rid of it so it does not antagonizing you as you're working.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2015-03-25T19:11:57+00:00

    OMG!! THANK YOU!!!! This has been driving me crazy and I had NO IDEA how to fix it!!!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2015-04-09T19:15:13+00:00

    I have a lenovo laptop as well. Followed th instructions above to no avail , the same problem as you, no device settings under mouse. So unable to disable the annoying charm bar, HATE it with a vengeance. I would not recommend windows 8 to anyone, so far it has been a complete disaster.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments