If you’re using Windows 10 on a touchscreen device, you might be curious about the settings for turning off the touchscreen and turning it back on again. While it may not be visible at first glance, this setting can be changed in the system’s Device Manager.

What is Touch Screen in Windows 10?

A touch screen in Windows 10 is a hardware component that allows users to interact directly with the computer’s display by tapping, swiping, or using gestures with their fingers.

It provides a more natural and tactile way to navigate through the operating system and interact with applications.

Windows 10: Toggle the Touchscreen

In Windows 10, you won’t find an easy way to toggle the touchscreen on or off; for instance, there’s nothing in the Settings menu dedicated to this task.

Since Windows 10 is always getting better and adding new features, perhaps this choice will become available in the not-too-distant future.

Even though it isn’t common, the computer’s maker (like Dell, HP, or Acer) might have bundled in some specialised software for controlling the touchscreen. If you haven’t already done so, check the manual that came with your system or get in touch with the maker.

For the vast majority of users, disabling and reenabling the touchscreen will need going through Device Manager.

1. To enter the shortcut menu, press the Windows Key plus X.
2. Avail yourself of the Device Manager by clicking it. There will be a new tab that displays a list of all the hardware your computer has found.
3. To see more options under the Human Interface Devices subheading, simply double-click on that heading.
4. You can disable a HID-compliant touch screen by right-clicking on it.
5. There will be a notice that says turning it off will render it useless. That being the case, I assume you’ll wish to continue by selecting Yes. There is no need to take any more action; the touchscreen will be disabled immediately.

Intent on reactivating the touchscreen? Just follow the same steps as before, but this time choose Enable device. In order for the adjustment to take effect, you may need to restart your computer.

Read Also:

1. Discord Text Formatting
2. PL2303 Driver Windows 11
3. Microsoft Planning Visual Rejuvenation Windows

Reasons for Disabling the Touch Screen on Windows 10

While touch screens can enhance user experiences, there are situations where you may want to disable touch screen functionality:

1. Accidental Touches: In some cases, accidental touches on the screen can disrupt your workflow, especially when using a non-touch-optimized application.
2. Drawing or Writing: When using a stylus or drawing tablet, you may prefer to disable the touch screen to prevent unintentional touch inputs while drawing or writing.
3. Battery Conservation: Disabling the touch screen can help conserve battery life on portable devices like laptops and tablets.
4. Troubleshooting: If your touch screen is not working correctly or experiencing calibration issues, disabling and re-enabling it can be a troubleshooting step.

Methods for Creating a Touchscreen Auto-Action Routine Toggle

It can be annoying to have to open Device Manager every time you want to toggle the status of your touchscreen. In this situation, it is recommended to develop a shortcut that would automate the process.

Given the complexity of the procedure, careful attention to the directions is required.

1: Windows Device Console Setup

To begin, get the Windows Device Console (also known as Devcon). This is often included with Visual Studio Express, but that package is too cumbersome to download and use in this case.

1. Get the free Devcon programme here.
2. The ZIP file must be downloaded and then extracted.
3. To access the appropriate 32-bit or 64-bit folder, first enter the windows8.1 folder (this also works for Windows 10, don’t worry).
4. To access Run, press the Windows key plus R. Type C:WindowsSystem32 (change the drive letter with the appropriate one) and click OK.
5. You should copy devcon.exe to the System32 directory.
6. To view the settings for devcon.exe, right-click on it.
7. Toggle to the tab labelled “Compatibility.”
8. Check The software requires you to run it in an administrative capacity.

2: Determine the Device Identifier

You’ll need your touchscreen’s unique identifier before you can go ahead and programme a shortcut to it.

1. To access the Device Manager, hit the Windows key plus the letter X.
2. Go to the Human Interface Devices tab and double-click it.
3. If you have a touch screen device that complies with the HID standard, you may access its settings by right-clicking on its entry and selecting Properties.
4. Now that you have the Properties window up, click the Details tab.
5. Select Hardware Ids from the Property menu. The format of the value you care about will look like this:

HID\VID_####&PID_####&COL##

3: The Art of the Batch File

Copy and paste the following into Notepad.

set “touchscreenid=ID_HERE”devcon status “%touchscreenid%” | findstr “running”if %errorlevel% == 0 (    devcon disable “%touchscreenid%”) else (    devcon enable “%touchscreenid%”)

1. If you left the Properties window open in the last step, switch to it now.
2. Select the necessary Hardware Id and right-click to copy it.
3. The ID HERE value that you copied to the clipboard should be pasted into Notepad in place of the original.
4. To save a document in Notepad with the name touchscreen, select File > Save As. bat. Place it in your Documents folder, or wherever you like.

4: Construct a Shortcut

The moment has come to transform this automated batch procedure into a practical quick cut.

1. To make a shortcut to the newly-saved file, simply navigate to it, right-click it, and select the option to do so.
2. Select Shortcut Properties from the context menu.
3. Put double quotation marks around the path in the Target field. Add the command cmd.exe /C to the beginning of the command. Cmd.exe /C “C:UsersJoeDesktoptouchscreen.bat” is an example of a Target.
4. Choose Minimized from the Run menu so that Command Prompt doesn’t launch every time the shortcut is clicked.
5. Select Run as administrator by clicking the Advanced button. Just go ahead and hit the OK button.
6. In the end, select OK.

In addition, you can assign a shortcut key to activate the batch file. To create a new shortcut key, go to the Shortcut key file box in the Properties window. Possibly the combination of Control-Alt-Tab.

How to Turn Off the Touch Screen on Windows 10

You can disable the touch screen on Windows 10 using either the Device Manager or the Control Panel. Here’s how to do it:

Using Device Manager:

1. Press Windows + X keys together and select “Device Manager” from the menu.
2. Expand the “Human Interface Devices” category.
3. Locate and right-click on the “HID-compliant touch screen” or a similar device.
4. Select “Disable device” from the context menu. Confirm the action if prompted.
5. The touch screen will now be disabled. To re-enable it, right-click on the same device in Device Manager and select “Enable device.”

Using Control Panel:

1. Open the Control Panel: You can do this by searching for “Control Panel” in the Windows search bar and selecting it.
2. Go to “Hardware and Sound”.
3. Under “Tablet PC Settings,” click on “Configure”.
4. In the “Tablet PC Settings” window, go to the “Display” tab.
5. Uncheck the box that says “Use your finger as an input device.”
6. Click “OK” to confirm the changes.

Preventing Unwanted Touch Inputs

If you don’t want to disable the touch screen but wish to prevent unwanted touch inputs, Windows 10 provides a useful feature called “Touch Keyboard.”

It allows you to use the touch screen keyboard only when needed, keeping the touch screen active for other interactions.

To access the Touch Keyboard:

1. Right-click on the taskbar and select “Show touch keyboard button” to enable the touch keyboard icon in the taskbar.
2. When you need to use the touch screen keyboard, simply click on the touch keyboard icon.
3. To hide the touch keyboard, click the “X” button in the top right corner of the keyboard.

Read Also:

1. Err_Cert_Authority_Invalid
2. Windows Update Error 80072EFE
3. ERR_SSL_VERSION_INTERFERENCE

Conclusion

Understanding how to enable and disable the touch screen on Windows 10 can enhance your computing experience by providing flexibility and control over your device.

Whether you need to disable the touch screen temporarily to prevent accidental touches or enable it for specific tasks, Windows 10 offers easy-to-use options to cater to your preferences and needs.