Windows8.1 How to use the touch pad

With Windows 8.1, you can use a different keyboard to meet your needs. The most common keyboard is an external physical keyboard that is connected to a computer. Windows 8.1 also comes with a touch pad for a touch-controlled computer.

Using the touch pad

To use the touch pad, click where you want to enter text in the screen, and then display the keyboard. If you are on the desktop, click the Touch Keyboard icon in the desktop taskbar to open the touch pad. To turn off the touch keyboard, click outside the text box or click the Touch Keyboard icon, and then click to close the keyboard icon.

If you want to manually open the touch pad (do not click on a text field or another type of area), do the following:

Swipe from the right edge of the screen to the middle, and click Set.

(If you are using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, and then move the mouse pointer up, and then click Settings.) )

Click on the "Keyboard" icon.

Tap the touch Keyboard and handwriting panel.

Touch keyboard

Change the touch pad

To use a different touch keyboard layout, or to switch to a keyboard layout in another language, click the Touch Keyboard icon in the lower-right corner of the keyboard, and then tap the keyboard layout you want to switch to.

If you stand or need a dual handheld tablet, you need to switch to the Thumb keyboard, which distributes the different keys on both sides of the screen so that you can use them more easily and comfortably. To switch to the Thumb keyboard, click the Touch Keyboard icon, and then click on the Thumb Keyboard icon. You can change the size of the thumb pad by holding and sliding the three dots next to the left space key on the keyboard.

Thumb keyboard

Recommendations and corrections

When using the touch keyboard, Windows may provide text advice to help you enter words more quickly or correct spelling errors. To insert a suggestion, click the suggestion, and if the recommendation is highlighted, simply press the SPACEBAR. To toggle the highlighted word, swipe the spacebar to the left or right.

Touch Keyboard Suggestions

Touch Keyboard tips and tricks

Here are some tips and tricks to help you make the most of your touch keyboard.

At the end of a sentence, double-click the SPACEBAR to insert a period or space.

Long buttons, you can see similar characters. For example, Long press "E" to see è, ē, é, ê, and E.

Flick up any key in the first line (a line that begins with a QWERTY) to insert the corresponding number (located in the upper-left corner of the key).

Click the "&123" key to switch to numbers and symbol views. You can switch numbers and symbol views back and forth faster by pressing the "&123" key, clicking on the desired key, and then releasing it.

Double-click the Shift key to enable caps locking.

Click on the CTRL key and click on the other keys to use the keyboard shortcuts.

If you want to find some interesting characters, you can click on the expression key.

　Attention

If the touch pad appears when you don't need it, your computer may not be set up correctly. Try running the Touch Keyboard troubleshooter (available in English only) to resolve the problem.