Can't use Adobe quick hand tool (Space + hold and drag) with PS/2 touchpad or mouse

[Andreas1974]

Hi,

I've got an HP ZBook 15 G2 laptop, with a PS/2 mouse (actually a trackball), and of course it has also a touchpad (with the same problem). The problem is of the same kind as other Adobe users as well as a lot of gamers have got: the combination of hoding down key(s) on the keyboard while moving the mouse pointer with a button pressed down, doesn't work.

Search this forum for
synaptics smartsense disabled yet still cant type and use touchpad at same time

... to see that there are lots of us. The answers marked as solved are either not solutions (buying a USB mouse as some of the solutions say, will still render the touchpad functionality broken).

You will find the same questions on the Adobe forum and other places on the net.

It seems HP + Windows 10 + Synaptics can't handle this question. Downgrading or even removing the Synaptics drivers doesn't help (that's another solution, that may have helped for some occations, not for the Adobe "quick hand tool" though, see below).

The touchpad is internally a PS/2 device, which is why I get the same problem with that, as with the touchpad.

Problem: I can't use a specific shortcut for grabbing and panning documents in the Adobe desktop applications (latest versions), such as InDesign CC and Photoshop CC. The shortcut is to hold down space bar while grabbing (holding down left button) and panning the document (moving the mouse pointer).

But the hand tool doesn't "grab" when I press the left mouse/touchpad button.

* On my previous computer, another, older HP with Windows 7 this was not a problem.

* Using a USB mouse there is no such problem.

Now I uninstalled the drivers completely, and tried without them, (no network access, after uninstalling, all "gestures" were gone, couldn't scroll using two fingers etc) but the "hand" shortcut in InDesign didn't grab anyway... with no Synaptic drivers at all!
I doubt that removing the registry keys some write about would do any difference, since the problem was still there with no Synaptics drivers at all.

Is there some other functionality that turns off the possibility to hold down a keyboard key (space) and the left mouse/touch button while moving the pointer? Perhaps more close to the hardware? Or is it something in Windows 10?

I also installed the 17.0.18.8 drivers according to instructions on another thread, and set the Smartsense slider to off, but no difference.

No difference after installing and turning SmartSense off.

We've got this problem on two different HP ZBooks at my work place (one G3 and one G2) and I also had another HP user, whom I don't know in person, to try this on the Adobe forum, and he could confirm the behaviour on his HP laptop with Windows 10: https://forums.adobe.com/message/10693711#10693711

I don't know what to do with this. I wish to use my trackball, and also think that it ought to be possible to make the touchpad work. We opened a guearantee issue with Swedish HP support but they were not familiar with the problem and closed the case, wouldn't help us since they did not know how – even though there is guarantee left and we can't use a very common shortcut in a InDesign and Photoshop.

Anyone?

Thanks,
Andreas

[Andreas1974 · Accepted solution]

A working solution was posted to this question, in the Adobe forums:

1. Go To Windows Settings
2. Go To Touchpad Settings
3. Change Sensitivity to "Most Sensitive"

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2549660