Turning a Laptop Trackpad On or Off on Windows or Mac

The trackpad on your laptop is great when you're working without a mouse, but not so much when you're using a keyboard and a mouse. Constantly brushing against the trackpad sends your cursor from one side of the page to the other and can get frustrating. Here's how to disable them on both the WIndows & Mac platforms.

Windows: Automatically disable the trackpad if an external mouse is connected 

1. Open the Windows Start menu (you can also press the Windows button on your keyboard & go to the "Settings" menu

2. Find the "Touchpad" section in the left content bar

3. Uncheck the option labeled "Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected

Note:

This only applies to Windows laptops running Windows 10 or newer. Anything older is considered antiquated & there we won't have a correlation article for it.

Mac: Ignore built-in trackpad when an external mouse or wireless trackpad is present

1 Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen and choose System Preferences (System Settings on macOS Ventura and above). 

2. Click on the Accessibility icon.

3. Scroll down to "Pointer Control & check "Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present"