Frustrated by constantly zooming in and out in Windows 10 by accident? Is your touchpad acting up, enabling zoom when you don’t want it to? Or do you simply never use the function, and would rather ensure that it’s disabled, so it can never be accidentally triggered?
Whatever your reason, to disable zoom on your touchpad in Windows 10, just follow the below tutorial. For any other queries, see the FAQs section at the bottom of this article.
Table of Contents
How to Disable Zoom On Your Windows 10 Touchpad
- In the search bar of your Windows 10 device (usually located in the taskbar which runs along the bottom of the screen), type in ‘touchpad settings’
- A list of potential results will auto-populate, and one of the first of these you should see will be ‘Touchpad settings’. Press Enter if it is the first/best match, or click on it
- From the touchpad settings menu, locate and click on ‘Additional settings’, typically located under ‘Related settings’
- The ‘Mouse Properties’ window will pop-up; scroll to the tab called ‘ClickPad Settings’ (Note: depending on your PC’s hardware, it may come under many different names, pertaining to the specific touchpad your PC has installed – it should be the last tab in the window, however, and contain settings specific to the touch/track/clickpad.
- Now, click ‘ClickPad Settings’
- In the next window, locate the box marked ‘Pinch Zoom’ and untick it.
- Click ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’ to apply and confirm the disabling of touchpad zoom
Note: It seems that not all touchpad settings are as easy to find as others; some manufacturer’s touchpad hardware settings are a little tricker. However, you should be able to follow the tutorial above in most circumstances. If you get stuck, best to determine first the make or your device’s touchpad, and search for this name – instead of ‘Touchpad settings’ – in the Windows 10 search bar. Hopefully, this will allow you to find the right settings, and pick back up with the tutorial from Step 3.
And there you have it, as simple as that, you can disable your Windows 10’s touchpad zoom option, and never be frustrated when it’s accidentally activated, ever again. If you wish to enable it again, or have any further unanswered questions, see the FAQs below.
Frequently asked questions
Why would I want to disable zoom on my Windows 10 touchpad?
Laptop touchpads can be exceptionally useful for performing many different functions, but there are times when those functions can also become a nuisance. Take, for instance, the zoom feature, wherein a user is able to zoom in and out on Windows 10 just by placing two fingers on the touchpad, and either moving them apart or together. Whilst handy, you can imagine how this might be easily triggered accidentally. As such, if you find yourself rarely needing to zoom, but often accidentally doing so anyway, it’s a sensible idea to disable the function altogether.
Is it possible to enable zoom again, once I’ve disabled it?
Absolutely, by following the tutorial above, but ensuring the ‘Pinch Zoom’ option is ticked, and thus re-enabled in the ClickPad/TouchPad/TrackPad settings window.
Does disabling zoom mean I can’t zoom in any app at all?
Far from it, in fact, disabling the touchpad zoom does not mean that the ability to zoom anywhere, anytime, isn’t still at your fingertips. You can almost always zoom in or out of an app, or even of the desktop, simply by using keyboard commands. Hold CTRL and tap ‘+’ (Plus) to zoom in, or hold CTRL and tap ‘-’ (Minus) to zoom out. To reset the zoom of any page, hold CTRL and tap ‘0’ (Zero). You’ll also find that most apps and browsers have built in Zoom tools in their toolbars, sidebars, or options menus. Have a hunt about and you’re sure to find a zoom control which works better for you than the touchpad zoom ever did.
