Editing Pointing stick (section)

== Variants ==
Pointing sticks typically have a replaceable rubber cap, called a nub, which can be a slightly rough "eraser head" material or another shape.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lenovo Support and Downloads: TrackPoint Caps and how to order for ThinkPad systems and TrackPoint Keyboards |url=http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/VLAR-443LTU.html |publisher=IBM.com |date=2007-07-17 |access-date=2009-04-06 |archive-date=2011-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524171140/http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/VLAR-443LTU.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The cap is red on ThinkPads, but is also found in other colors on other machines. 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.

Button configurations vary depending on vendor and laptop model. ThinkPads have a prominent middle mouse button, but some models have no physical buttons. Toshiba employs concentric arcs.

In the early 1990s, [[Zenith Data Systems]] shipped a number of laptop computers equipped with a device called J-Mouse,<ref>{{Cite web |title=J-Mouse - Trained In Tech |url=https://trainedintech.com/j-mouse/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230505201003/https://trainedintech.com/j-mouse/ |archive-date=2023-05-05}}</ref> which essentially used a special keyswitch under the J key to allow the J keycap to be used as a pointing stick.

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]]. On certain Toshiba Libretto mini laptops, the pointing stick was located next to the display. IBM sold a mouse with a pointing stick in the location where a [[scroll wheel]] is common now.
[[File:Pointing stick Toshiba.jpg|thumb|A pointing stick on a mid-1990s-era Toshiba laptop. The two buttons below the keyboard act as a computer mouse: the top button is used for left-clicking while the bottom button is used for right-clicking.]]
Optical pointing sticks are also used on some Ultrabook tablet hybrids, such as the Sony Duo 11, ThinkPad Tablet and Samsung Ativ Q.

On the Gateway 2000 Liberty laptop the pointing stick is above the enter key on the right side of the keyboard.

A pointing stick was featured in the [[New Nintendo 3DS]] as a secondary analog stick, known as the '''C-Stick'''.