On certain Toshiba Libretto mini laptops, the pointing stick was located next to the display. In addition to appearing between the G, H and B keys on a QWERTY keyboard, these devices or similar can also appear on gaming devices as an alternative to a D-pad or analog stick. In the early 1990s, Zenith Data Systems shipped a number of laptop computers equipped with a device called " J-Mouse", which essentially used a special keyswitch under the J key to allow the J keycap to be used as a pointing stick.
ThinkPads have a prominent middle mouse button, but some models have no physical buttons. For example, it may be gray, pink, black or blue on some Dell models, blue on some HP/Compaq laptops, and green or gray on most Toshiba laptops produced before the 2000s.īutton configurations vary depending on vendor and laptop model. The cap is red on ThinkPads, but is also found in other colors on other machines. Pointing sticks typically have a replaceable rubber cap, called a nub, which can be a slightly rough "eraser head" material or another shape. This pointing device has also appeared next to screens on compact-sized laptops such as the Toshiba Libretto and Sony VAIO UX. The mouse buttons can be operated right-handed or left-handed due to their placement below the keyboard along the centerline. On a QWERTY keyboard, the stick is typically embedded between the G, H and B keys, and the mouse buttons are placed just below the space bar. The relation between pressure and cursor or pointer speed can be adjusted, just as mouse speed is adjusted. The velocity of the pointer depends on the applied force so increasing pressure causes faster movement.
A pointing stick can be used by pushing with the fingers in the general direction the user wants the cursor to move. The pointing stick senses applied force by using two pairs of resistive strain gauges. IBM introduced it commercially in 1992 on its laptops under the name "TrackPoint", patented in 1997. Unlike other pointing devices, it reacts to sustained force or strain rather than to gross movement, so it is called an "isometric" pointing device. Like other pointing devices such as mice, touchpads or trackballs, operating system software translates manipulation of the device into movements of the pointer or cursor on the monitor. IBM ThinkPad caps (left-to-right): Soft Dome, Soft Rim, Classic Dome, Eraser Head (discontinued)Ī pointing stick (or trackpoint, also referred to generically as a nub) is a small analog stick used as a pointing device typically mounted centrally in a computer keyboard.
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