V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r

Q: A NEW TRACKPAD DRIVER IS OUT

I've got a good news for Macbook Pro / Air owners: a new multitouch trackpad driver for Windows 7 is out.

This driver (codenamed 'Trackpad++') neither contains, nor modifies the original Apple code.
However, it relies on Apple drivers stack for raw hardware access, that's why Boot Camp 3.1 shall be installed first.

Features of the Trackpad++ driver (vs. Boot Camp 3.1 driver):

1. Improved pointer ballistics (pointer movement can be very slow or very fast, depending on the finger speed);

2. Dramatically improved two-finger scrolling experience: Mac OS X-similar (accelerated) scrolling model implemented;

3. Elimination of the most annoying Windows issue of Apple Multitouch Trackpad, i.e. false detection of drag'n'drop actions;

4. Trackpad++ Control Module for adjusting the Trackpad settings.

Supported Macbook Pro generations: Early 2008, Late 2008, Early 2009, Mid 2009;
Supported Macbook Air generations: all generations;
Supported Windows versions: Windows 7 32-bit, Windows 7 64-bit (Boot Camp 3.1 shall be installed first).

You may visit http://trackpad.powerplan7.com for details.

Just by the way: there was an extensive beta-testing phase, and a lot of volunteers have tried Trackpad++ already, so I can assure You that the driver is rock-stable.

P.S. I wrote this driver. My another project is Power Plan Assistant - a popular utility for Boot Camp-enabled Macbook Pro and Air notebooks.

Cheers, and enjoy Trackpad++, something Apple definitely have had to implement a while ago... but I know and You know - it never would...

Posted on May 21, 2010 1:05 AM

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Q: A NEW TRACKPAD DRIVER IS OUT

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  • by Omikron,

    Omikron Omikron Dec 28, 2013 1:08 PM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 28, 2013 1:08 PM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r

    @Vlad

     

    Thank you for the reply, and for the all of the hard work you clearly put into the project.  For the record, I have mentioned several times both publicly and in emails to you that I would happily purchase a registered, non-expiring, signed version the moment it became available.

     

    I don't have a problem paying for useful utilities that I use, but I have to be able to use them before I can justify spending money.

     

    Can you provide some more specific goals on when "not-so-far future" would be?  Perhaps also set up a donation fund specifically for the driver signing certificate?  I have been waiting very patiently since October for such a release and so far there hasn't been a  path for getting a signed driver published.

     

    Signing the driver wouldn't take any more development time or changes to the software, so the only hurdle seems to be the moderate cost for the certificate itself.  Let's set up a clear guideline for how to get that done. :-)

  • by FrederiQ,

    FrederiQ FrederiQ Dec 29, 2013 10:40 AM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Dec 29, 2013 10:40 AM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r

    Dear Vladimir, here's my report: in this beta version 3 finger dragging is improved to an extent when I can use it as the primary and only dragging method. For instance, I can now select a single letter of text with comfort. In the past I had to use 2 finger drag with click for precision work. Now 3 finger drag has the same, if not better precision.

    Thank you very much! About scrolling: yes the Windows 8,1 built-in PDF viewer scrolls just fine now. Thanks again for all of your AWESOME work! Happy new year!

  • by bb426,

    bb426 bb426 Dec 29, 2013 4:15 PM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r
    Level 1 (75 points)
    Dec 29, 2013 4:15 PM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r

    Thank you yet again Vlad for an amazing update! A big thank you...

     

    The only thing I can suggest to add to the next build is to create an option to invert the direction of two finger swipe for back/forward, the one you just added in place of horizontal scrolling, so that back and forward can be made consistent with how OS X has its directional back/forward swiping (or not if desired).

     

    I will save up in the next few weeks in order to make a small donation or two. We greatly appreciate your hard and generous work!

     

    B

  • by bb426,

    bb426 bb426 Dec 29, 2013 11:45 PM in response to bb426
    Level 1 (75 points)
    Dec 29, 2013 11:45 PM in response to bb426

    Another suggestion I thought of recently. I imagine you are probably also trying to figure out how to make it possible to have two finger swipe back/forward AND horizontal scrolling at some point. Perhaps until then make a temporary option to allow the user to hold down a key (fn maybe) to be able to scroll horizontally while held down, and when released, there is normal back/forward behavior with two fingers. I only say this because I forgot how much I still use horizontal scrolling (such as on the metro screen and in many metro apps). I am almost unable to sacrifice that feature for two finger back/forward!

  • by timelover,

    timelover timelover Dec 30, 2013 9:49 AM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Dec 30, 2013 9:49 AM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r

    Dear Vlad, no way to quickly implement a 4-finger DRAG for middle click?

     

    I'd be happy to stick with 2 finger forward/backward, 3-finger drag for left click drag and finally 4-finger drag for middle click drag.

     

    That would be heaven on my macbook!

  • by V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r,

    V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r Dec 31, 2013 4:12 AM in response to FrederiQ
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Dec 31, 2013 4:12 AM in response to FrederiQ

    @Omikron: I hope to provide a signed version as soon as by the end of January. Sure, a free/donationware approach is one thing, but the special driver- (kernel-mode) subscription-based signing certificate is another thing. I think I will be providing the signature separately (on demand), for a moderate price.

     

    @FrederiQ: Thank you for the test report! This reworked, high-precision 3-finger drag will be included in the very next next build.

     

    @bb426: Thank you! I'm already testing the invert swipe direction feature, and hope to include it in this week's build. Scroll vs. swipe - yes, it's a dilemma. I'm trying to get the proper blend of this features, but honestly no good news yet. Windows platform is sometimes shockingly unfriendly (it's just like with per-pixel scrolling which can be supported only on per-app basis, so the driver developers have to write separate smooth scrolling plugin or extension for each browser, for each of the office apps, etc.)

     

    @timelover: Could you contact me via email, I have something for you to test.

     

    @ALL: Now it's time for us to say, Happy New Year! HNY Everybody!!!

  • by pratnala,

    pratnala pratnala Dec 31, 2013 7:11 AM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Dec 31, 2013 7:11 AM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r

    To get the signed certificate, you have to pay MS some cash every year? Not a one-time fee is it? That's bad

  • by raiderex,

    raiderex raiderex Dec 31, 2013 11:26 PM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 31, 2013 11:26 PM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r

    Excellent work Vlad!

     

    I'm having a bit of trouble with the back and forward gestures, regardless which method I try. I've tried 4-finger, 3-finger and 2-finger horizontal and vertical swipe for back and forward but nothing happens every time. Every other action works except back and forward navigation.

     

    I'm currently running version 3.0b on 64-bit Windows 8.1 on my late 2009 Macbook Pro Unibody.

     

    Once again, I'm thoroughly impressed by your work on this brilliant piece of software. I don't think I'll be able to use Bootcamp without it again.

     

    EDIT: A link to a couple screenshots of my registry and the trackpad++ control panel. http://goo.gl/RX6EFz

  • by V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r,

    V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r Jan 2, 2014 1:16 AM in response to raiderex
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Jan 2, 2014 1:16 AM in response to raiderex

    @raiderex: Thanks for your post. Your settings are fine. Because everything else works, the only reason for such behavior could be: some 3rd party mice drivers are present in the system, for example drivers from Logitech or Microsoft. These drivers are known to sometimes for some weird reason change the way Windows interacts with back/forward command.

  • by V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r,

    V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r Jan 3, 2014 1:33 AM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Jan 3, 2014 1:33 AM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r

    @ALL: Trackpad++ version 3.0b is now online. It has two changes vs. previous version:

    - Improved 3-finger drag (now allows to select a single letter of small text with precision)

    - Added an option to invert 2-finger back/forward swipe direction.

  • by timelover,

    timelover timelover Jan 3, 2014 9:12 AM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jan 3, 2014 9:12 AM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r

    I found an annoying little bug with this latest version. I set 3-finger drag with the "no delay" option. However, when I restart the PC or close the lid or put it in sleep, as soon as I start it back, delay comes back. The tick box is still checked though. Then I have to open the module, uncheck and recheck the box to make it work as it should.

  • by V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r,

    V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r Jan 5, 2014 11:27 AM in response to timelover
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Jan 5, 2014 11:27 AM in response to timelover

    @ALL: A new test build is ready. This time, 3-finger drag is improved once again. While the previous build allowed to precisely select very small blocks of text, like 1 letter, this build fixes the issue when sometimes the selection got changed when lifting the fingers. In my opinion the overall quality of Trackpad++ 3-finger drag is now the same, if not better than is OS X. http://www.powerplan7.com/Trackpad_Plus_Plus_Driver_Control_Module_Setup_30b_TES T_02052014.exe

     

    @timelover: Could you try with this recent build, is the no-delay mode persistent now? By the way: I keep believing in that small drag-release delay, it makes long distance dragging with 3 fingers so stress-free, plus it's actually of the same duration as in OS X. (I'm not trying to let you change the setting - it's mostly the information for other people, especially for those who are new to Trackpad++).

  • by FrederiQ,

    FrederiQ FrederiQ Jan 7, 2014 8:35 AM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jan 7, 2014 8:35 AM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r

    This version is excellent! To me, three finger dragging has always been the most valuable gesture so what I'm experiencing now might be considered as an euphoria

  • by V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r,

    V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r Jan 8, 2014 3:21 AM in response to FrederiQ
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Jan 8, 2014 3:21 AM in response to FrederiQ

    @FrederiQ: Haha, that sounds cool! Thank you for all of your feedback!

     

    @ALL: If you would like to add a digital signature to your copy of a 64-bit Trackpad++ driver, please contact me via email for instructions (note: in order to proceed soon, you have to be able to use PayPal).

  • by V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r,

    V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r Jan 8, 2014 12:00 PM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Jan 8, 2014 12:00 PM in response to V-l-a-d-i-m-i-r

    @ALL: Dear All - update - sorry, but now it seems it's too early to contact me. Way too early. In fact, I'm getting pessimistic, and it's because of a certain fruit company. Mostly because of a certain good habit they have. This board is not intended for such discussions, but the most hardcore members of the Trackpad++ community may contact me directly via email to learn more. Let's keep this topic concentrated purely on (a) Your precious feedback, and (b) new Trackpad++ releases, announces and test version propagations.

     

    By the way, the next build will go live tomorrow. Don't miss it in order to share the dragging euphoria effect with Mr. Frederiq

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