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: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2014-04-20T02:42:41+00:00

    Help - like many of the previous posters I am tearing my hair out trying to disable/remove that large "opaque" clock from appearing every time I try to do anything.

    Unfortunately I imagine that there is no simple solution because the "touch-pad" is vendor specific. Mine is an "Elan smart-pad". I have tried fiddling with all the "smart" settings to no avail.

    At this point I am quite prepared to try an "edit registry" solution if someone can provide the procedure.

    Failing that please show me who dreamt up this mess: I'll happily break my laptop over his/her head and buy a windows 7 machine from a pawn shop. (sorry for last sentence. I couldn't see what I was writing: something kept obscuring my view)!!

    Thanks in advance

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2014-04-03T02:10:54+00:00

    Thank you SO much for this! I read all the posts in this topic but my ELAN touchpad settings did not display "side swipe." After following your instructions I was able to fix the problem in 5 minutes. I love you! <3

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2014-03-26T15:34:15+00:00

    If you have an ASUS computer I found the fix. Go to control panel>>>>Hardware and Sound>>>>Asus Smart Gesture>>>>Edge Gesture. 

    There is a lot more you can change to your liking in this Asus Smart Gesture Area.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2014-03-18T15:06:24+00:00

    This swipe gesture has drove me crazy since I bought the computer. I looked for a way to shut it off and came really close but I was like 1 step away from finding the disable button. THANK YOU very much.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments