How to Change Touchpad Three-finger Tap Gesture in Windows 11
Changing the touchpad’s three-finger tap gesture in Windows 11 lets you assign a custom action to a simple tap.
This gesture lets you tap your laptop’s touchpad with three fingers to quickly open features.
Windows 11 allows you to set this for devices with a precision touchpad. You can assign actions like opening Search, the Notification Center, or controlling media playback with this tap.
Navigate to Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, and click Touchpad. Expand Three-finger gestures and select your desired action from the Taps dropdown menu.
Change Touchpad Three-finger Tap Gesture in Settings
- Open Settings (press ⊞ Win+I).
- Click on Bluetooth & devices on the left side. Then click on Touchpad on the right side.
The Settings app makes it simple to change what happens when you tap your Windows 11 touchpad with three fingers. Open Settings, navigate to Bluetooth & devices, then click on Touchpad to find the options for customizing your three-finger taps. Next, click on Three-finger gestures to see your choices.
- Click on Three-finger gestures to expand the section.
- Select one option from the Taps drop menu: Nothing, Open search (default), Notification center, Play/pause, or Middle mouse button.
- You can now close Settings.
Option Two
Change Touchpad Three-finger Tap Gesture using Registry
For more control, change your touchpad’s three-finger tap gesture in Windows 11 using the Registry Editor (a tool for modifying Windows settings). This advanced method lets you set the three-finger tap to do nothing or even open search. To start, add a specific value to your registry settings.
Set Touchpad Three-finger Tap Gesture to “Nothing”
reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PrecisionTouchPad" /v ThreeFingerTapEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
Set Touchpad Three-finger Tap Gesture to "Open search"
This is the default setting.
reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PrecisionTouchPad" /v ThreeFingerTapEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
Set Touchpad Three-finger Tap Gesture to "Notification center"
reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PrecisionTouchPad" /v ThreeFingerTapEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 2 /f
Set Touchpad Three-finger Tap Gesture to "Play/pause"
reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PrecisionTouchPad" /v ThreeFingerTapEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 3 /f
Set Touchpad Three-finger Tap Gesture to "Middle mouse button"
reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PrecisionTouchPad" /v ThreeFingerTapEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 4 /f
Summary
You can change your touchpad's three-finger tap gesture in Windows 11 using either the Settings app or the more advanced Registry Editor.
How do you customize the Trackpad gestures on a Mac?
For Mac users: How do you customize Trackpad gestures? Go to System Settings (or System Preferences) from the Apple menu , then click Trackpad. There you can turn a gesture off, change the type of gesture, and learn which gestures work with your Mac. Tap with one finger to click.
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Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard, a writer for Geek Rewind, is a tech enthusiast who loves breaking down complex IT topics into simple, easy-to-understand ideas. With years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, he’s developed a knack for offering practical tips and solutions. Richard aims to make technology more accessible and actionable. He's deeply committed to the Geek Rewind community, always ready to answer questions and engage in discussions.
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