Touchpad anomaly with Word

[farrellts]

I know this SHOULD be an issue with the touchpad driver manufacturer alone or else with Windows 11's touchpad controls, but it is not. Because the problem ONLY happens in Word. What happens is that, the righthand side of my touchpad is dead when I tap it, unless I first tap the lefthand side of my touchpad. Then the righthand side BRIEFLY functions when tapped to act as a left-click. Shortly, though, it becomes dead again. Again, this happens ONLY in Word, so I don't suspect a faulty touchpad, and the touchpad driver is the most current one published.


every time I need a left-click in Word.

I would have expected the righthand side of the touchpad to act exactly like the lefthand side of the touchpad, providing a uniform left-click ALL the time just like the lefthand side of my mousepad, as it does in the rest of the software I use and while using Windows 11 outside of any app as well. Or else to function as a right-click, as I read happens with Office in certain circumstances.

In fact, Word is the only instance on Windows 11, inside or outside of any app, where there is any difference between the function of the lefthand and righthand side of the touchpad.

(The workaround for this is to reach across this three inch wide touchpad to the lefthand side. Cumbersome and hard to remember at best.)

I can find no setting under Options in Word where I can customize either a touchpad or a mouse. The only settings available for a touchpad which I can find are under Windows Settings. Those are of no help, since they are not specific to ANY app. There are no driver-specific settings available.

My laptop is a Dell XPS 15 9530 (a 2023 model). I am running Windows 11 Professional. Any ideas about this would be appreciated. (I suppose my next step, barring any ideas here, is to contact Dell customer support and log an issue with the device driver.)

Thanks to all who have any ideas about this.