The touchpad on your Windows 10 laptop is one of its most important features. It allows you to scroll and click through apps and web pages with ease — essentially, it does everything that a normal mouse is designed to do.

But your touchpad can also get in the way. If you're typing and find yourself accidentally swiping the touchpad with your arm by mistake, or if you simply prefer to use an external mouse, you might want to disable your touchpad temporarily or permanently. 

Fortunately, if you're running a Windows 10, disabling the touchpad is a simple process. It can be done via your Settings menu, via the Device Manager, and possibly even with a keyboard shortcut.

1. Click the Windows icon in the lower left-hand corner of your screen (or tap it on your keyboard), then type "Settings." 

2. Click the "Settings" app that appears in the search results. 

3. Click "Devices." 

4. Toggle the "Touchpad" bar to off, turning it from green to grey, then exit the Settings menu. 

1. Click the Windows button and type "Device Manager," clicking the app when it appears in the search results by name. 

2. Click on "Mice and other pointing devices" to expand the menu. 

3. Find your computer's touchpad and right click on it, then click "Disable" to turn the touchpad off. You may need to use the keyboard's "Enter" key to save these changes if you don't have an external mouse hooked up yet.

Some Windows 10 keyboards have shortcuts that allow you to disable and enable the touchpad at will.

In general, this shortcut will be Fn + one of the numbered F keys at the top of the keyboard. Look for the numbered F key that has a picture of the touchpad, or a finger touching a square — this generally represents the touchpad.