DIY: using 7-zip, you can extract the drivers from Apple update download.
- Download the Boot Camp Software Update 3.2 For Windows: 32-bit (280MB) or 64-bit (121MB)
- Open the EXE with 7-zip and extract (or navigate into) the BootCampUpdate .MSP file
- In the "BootCamp3200aToBootCamp3200" folder, extract Binary.AppleWirelessTrackpad_Bin (another compressed file itself)
- Decompress the contents of this _Bin file into a folder. You should see AppleWTP files and DPInst.exe among others.
- Run DPInst.exe and follow the dialogs.
- or - Quick and dirty shortcut:
- Download and run a self-extracting archive produced from the DIY procedure: 32-bit (1.7MB) or 64-bit (2.2MB) - driver version 3.1.0.7, 8/24/2010
Notes:
- This should work whether or not you are already paired, and will also update an older driver in-place (no need to uninstall first)
- To manually install the driver (without running DPInst.EXE), look for the "Bluetooth HID device" in Device Manager (it will show VID 000205ac and PID 030e in the Properties if you have the right one).
- The driver will not install onto the "HID-compliant mouse", only its parent device.
See also:
How to modify Magic Trackpad settings (without Bootcamp control panel)
Attaching a debugger to the BootCamp control panel, one can see that the settings are written with an IOCTL of the format CTL_CODE(FILE_DEVICE_MOUSE, 0x801, METHOD_BUFFERED, FILE_ANY_ACCESS). The data written matches what is found in the Windows Registry at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Apple Inc.\Trackpad\Mode. I've determined the format of this entry to be:
0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0x6F
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | tap to click
| | | | | | dragging
| | | | | drag lock
| | | | [reserved, always 1]
| | | [reserved, always 0]
| | secondary tap
| secondary click
bottom left (0 for bottom right)
I wrote a quick program that will read this registry entry and write the settings to the \\.\AppleWirelessTrackpad device. Download it here (source code available, contributions welcome). Someone with Windows programming experience could add a nice UI and have it run as a service to detect and initialize when the device is [re]connected.
For my personal setup I manually changed the registry setting (0x6b: defaults, minus drag lock!) and run this program as a Windows Scheduled Task (at login). On the rare occasion that the pad loses sync between reboots, I just run the program again manually to refresh the settings.
Here is a sample registry file, save as plain text then double-click to apply:
File disableTapToClick.reg:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Apple Inc.\Trackpad]
"Mode"=dword:0000006e
Additional sample registry files available on the downloads page.
Best Answer
I've been using the Magic Trackpad for over two weeks now since I asked the question. It can surely replace a mouse for most things except touching up pictures in Aperture. It's really painful to use. Literally. My wrist hurts after editing a dozen or so pictures. (I believe Lightroom or Photoshop users would face the same problem too) Generally, operations involving lots of dragging (like using brushes) is really hard on the wrist while using the Magic Trackpad. An oversight (software-based) Apple made in my opinion is the lack of support for gesture based zooming and rotation in Aperture. (Or maybe I'm misunderstanding something here, but the said gestures don't seem to work in Aperture for me)
However, the Magic Trackpad works exceptionally well for surfing the web and almost everything else. Inertial scrolling and gestures are wonderful; almost feels like surfing on iOS devices. The ability to fly through pages of code and documentation fluidly is also a very productive experience (for programmers). Gesture based zooming is useful too.
So can the Magic Trackpad really completely replace a mouse?
For my use case, the answer is no.
I'll say the Magic Trackpad alone is sufficient only if you don't use a lot of dragging operations such as using brushes within graphics or photo editing software. Movie editing is probably a pain too. Paired with a normal mouse for the occasional dragging would be a more practical thing to do. I ended up using it together with a Magic Mouse and love the complete lack of wires and connectors. Ergonomically, I find using two different input devices (three counting the keyboard) does help prevent the overuse of certain hand movements.