When you open a Lenovo laptop, its TrackPoint, the red dot located in the middle of the keyboard, draws attention . For more than 25 years, when they were IBM, this device has been featured on the keyboards of their laptops as a substitute for the mouse or the touch panel . When it was born it was the solution to not depend on an external mouse (there were no touch panels). They presented it as " the mouse inside the keyboard ". But today Lenovo maintains it because it continues to have many convinced users ... Do you know what it can be used for and the functions it has?
Point and aim
The TrackPoint is a pressure sensor on which we act with a finger . Its first function is most obvious: like a mouse or the panel, it helps us move the cursor on the screen. So we can point to parts, point to icons, and so on. In combination with the panel keys, it will also act like the mouse with its left (select) or right (context menu) buttons . Here is already a feature of the TrackPointthat can differentiate it for example from the touch panel. If you have a touch panel on your laptop with the normal sensitivity to navigate, use programs, etc., the cursor will move quite quickly. The same will happen with an external mouse: it is normal to have it configured quite fast, even with acceleration (with a quick gesture it goes to the other side of the screen).
This is all very well, but ... what happens when we want to select a precise area in a drawing program? That speed works against you and here comes the TrackPoint to the aid of those who have a Lenovo. It is usually configured slower and more precise , and due to its characteristics it is also easier (by pressing with the finger) to achieve more precision when pointing or selecting. Now you begin to understand why Lenovo users don't want to give it up right?
Scroll and scroll
The TrackPoint has more hidden tricks for those who have not used it. If you look at the touchpad of Lenovo laptops in addition to the usual left and right buttons, there is a third central button with a rough part. This button is used in combination with the TrackPoint: instead of moving the cursor around the screen, it leaves the cursor static and scrolls the rest of the content. You can change the settings if we prefer to use it as a central button. That is, it is a scroll or " scroll"As can be used on the touchpad on most laptops with two fingers or around the edge of the panel. But 25 years ago, remember, there were no touchpads and all these tricks were a perfect solution for those who had Lenovo (IBM) laptops and could "pass" the mouse.
The original ThinkPad (model 700C from 1992)