How to Change Touchpad Three-finger Tap Gesture in Windows 11
Want to tailor your Windows 11 experience? You can change the touchpad’s three-finger tap gesture to customize your workflow.
With this gesture, you can tap your laptop’s touchpad with three fingers to trigger specific actions, giving you a quick way to access features.
In Windows 11, this setting is available for devices with a precision touchpad. It lets you assign functions like opening Search, the Notification Center, or controlling media playback.
Navigate to Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, and click Touchpad. Expand Three-finger gestures and select your desired action from the Taps dropdown menu.
Option One
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.
You can change your touchpad’s three-finger tap gesture easily through Windows 11 Settings.
- 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
Changing your touchpad’s three-finger tap gesture using the Registry Editor is an advanced option for Windows 11.
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 simple Settings app or the more advanced Registry Editor.
How do you customize the Trackpad gestures on a Mac?
Trackpad gestures For more information about these gestures, choose 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
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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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