How to Open the On-Screen Touchpad in Windows 11

Enable the Virtual Touchpad

The virtual touchpad is turned on in Taskbar settings. Once enabled, a trackpad icon stays in the corner of your taskbar, next to the clock. The setting sits under the taskbar corner icons.

Microsoft has changed the wording between Windows 11 builds. The heading may read Taskbar corner icons or Taskbar corner items, and the entry may read Virtual touchpad or Touchpad. They are the same switch.

Requirement: the Virtual touchpad toggle appears only on devices with a touchscreen. A desktop PC or laptop with a non-touch display will not show it, whatever Windows version it runs. Check this first, because updating Windows will not add the option to hardware that lacks touch support.

These steps enable the virtual touchpad and open the on-screen touchpad in Windows 11 for the first time.

1. Right-click an empty space on the taskbar🖥️. The taskbar is the horizontal bar at the bottom of your screen. On a touchscreen, press and hold instead, then lift your finger.
2. Select Taskbar settings. The Settings⚙️ app opens on the taskbar🖥️ page, which is Settings › Personalization › Taskbar.
3. Scroll down to Taskbar corner icons. On some builds the heading is labelled Taskbar corner items.
4. Expand the heading if it is collapsed. Click it, and the list of corner icons drops down below it.
5. Find Touchpad in the list. Some builds call it Virtual touchpad.
6. Click the toggle next to it to set it to On. The toggle label changes to On, and no restart is needed.
7. Look at the bottom right corner of the taskbar🖥️. The touchpad icon should now sit next to the clock and the other system tray🔔 icons.
8. Select the touchpad icon to open the virtual touchpad. A translucent rectangle appears on the desktop.

You can reach the same page in other ways. On touch devices, press and hold the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings. You can also press the Win and R, type ms-settings:taskbar, and press Enter to open Settings directly on the taskbar page.

If the toggle is missing on a touchscreen device, install any pending Windows updates, because older Windows 11 builds put these items in a slightly different place. On a device without a touchscreen, the missing toggle is expected.

Open the Virtual Touchpad

Selecting the touchpad icon in the bottom right corner of your taskbar opens the virtual touchpad right away. A translucent rectangle appears on your desktop. Touch gestures control the cursor, as on a physical laptop trackpad.

On touch devices, this icon is one of the taskbar corner icons, alongside others such as the pen menu and touch keyboard icons. These steps cover using the touchpad once it is on the taskbar.

1. Tap the Touchpad icon in the bottom right corner of the taskbar🖥️. If you do not see it, turn it on first using the steps above.
2. Check the screen for a translucent rectangle. This is the virtual trackpad.
3. Drag the touchpad window by its title bar to move it. The title bar is at the top of the window. If the cursor moves instead of the window, drag from the edge of the window rather than the middle of the pad.
4. Place one finger inside the touchpad area and slide it. The mouse cursor moves across the screen as your finger moves.
5. Tap the virtual left mouse button or right mouse button. Both sit at the bottom of the touchpad window, and they perform a left or right click.
6. Close the window with the X button in the top right corner when you finish. The window closes, but the icon stays in the taskbar🖥️ so you can open it again.

Disable the Virtual Touchpad

1. Right-click an empty area on the taskbar🖥️. On a touchscreen, press and hold instead.
2. Select Taskbar settings. Settings opens on the taskbar🖥️ page.
3. Expand the Taskbar corner icons category. It is called Taskbar corner items on some builds.
4. Find Touchpad in the list. Some builds call it Virtual touchpad.
5. Click the toggle next to it to switch it to Off.
6. Check the taskbar🖥️ corner. The touchpad icon disappears immediately, and no restart is needed.

Configure Touch and Mouse Settings

Windows 11 lets you change how the cursor and touch input behave. This covers cursor speed, scrolling direction, and touch gesture behavior. The virtual touchpad follows the system’s pointer and touch behavior, so these changes affect how it feels to use. All of these options are under Bluetooth & devices.

Some pages depend on your hardware. The Touch page appears only on touchscreen devices, and a separate touchpad page appears only if the device has a physical touchpad.

1. Open Settings. The quickest way is to press the Win and I together.
2. Click Bluetooth🔷 & devices in the left sidebar. The device pages appear on the right.
3. Select Touch to adjust touchscreen preferences. Select Mouse instead to change cursor speed and the primary button assignment.
4. Change the setting you want. Most changes apply immediately, so you can test the result right away.
5. Set the option back to its previous value if you want to undo a change. Note the original value before you start, so you know what to return to.

Troubleshooting Virtual Touchpad Issues

If the on-screen trackpad will not open or does not respond, damaged system files could be the cause. System File Checker scans Windows and repairs corrupted files. It must run from an elevated (administrator) Command Prompt. Try it before anything more drastic, since it only repairs files and does not change your settings.

This will not bring back a missing Virtual touchpad toggle on a device with no touchscreen. That is a hardware limit, not a file problem.

1. Open the Start menu⊞ and type cmd. Command Prompt appears in the search🔍 results.
2. Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator. You need an administrator account for this.
3. Click Yes if User Account Control asks for permission. A Command Prompt window opens with administrator rights.
4. Type sfc /scannow and press Enter. The scan starts and shows a percentage as it works.
5. Wait for the scan to finish. It can take several minutes, so do not close the window.
6. Read the message when the scan ends. It will say that no integrity violations were found, or that files were found and repaired.
7. Restart your🔄 computer. Then try to open the virtual touchpad again.

Managing Precision Touchpad Settings via Registry Editor

Advanced users can manage precision touchpad settings in Windows 11 by changing registry values directly in Registry Editor. This works on both Home and Pro editions. Incorrect changes can cause system instability, so go carefully.

Before you edit anything, back up the key you are about to change. In Registry Editor, right-click the key, choose Export, and save the file somewhere safe. Double-clicking that file later restores the saved values.

1. Press the Win and R at the same time. The Run dialog box opens.
2. Type regedit and press Enter. Registry Editor opens.
3. Click Yes if User Account Control asks for permission.
4. Navigate to the following location in the left sidebar: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PrecisionTouchPad
5. Double-click an available DWORD value in the right pane. A dialog box opens showing its data. A DWORD is a numeric setting stored in the registry.
6. Change the data to match your configuration, then click OK.
7. Close Registry Editor and restart your🔄 computer to apply the changes.

What to do next

You should now see the virtual touchpad icon in your taskbar corner and be able to open the on-screen trackpad whenever you need it. If it ever stops working, come back to the System File Checker steps above. If the toggle never appeared, check whether your device has a touchscreen.

Next, you can look at customizing other input devices or setting up custom touch gestures for your touchscreen display.