Introduction
They’re an integral part of your computing setup, and you use them so often you practically forget they’re there. We’re talking about your mouse and trackpad, and there’s more to them than you might think; both input devices offer options and shortcuts that can make your life easier. Here are six top tips to improve the way you use your Mac’s mouse and trackpad.
1. Customize Trackpad Gestures
Open System Preferences > Trackpad. Click on the first tab, Point & Click. If you’d rather tap your Mac’s trackpad than press down to click, check the first box. If you want to add a secondary click (a control-click action), check the next box down and choose one of the options from the drop-down menu.
The next option, Look Up, is very useful. Check it and you can tap any word in any document with three fingers to look it up in the dictionary, thesaurus and Wikipedia. Finally, to move windows by dragging with three fingers, check the bottom box.
2. Control the way you scroll and zoom
Your Mac is configured to allow you to zoom in and out of images and web pages by either pinching and unpinching with two fingers or by tapping the trackpad with two fingers to activate what Apple calls Smart Zoom. That can be very useful, but can also be confusing if, say, you tend to leave your thumb resting on the trackpad. To switch off this behavior, tap the Scroll & Zoom tab in the Trackpad System Preferences pane and uncheck the second and third boxes. If you don’t want to rotate an image with your fingers on the trackpad, turn that off, too.
3. Change the default gestures for navigating OS X
In OS X, you can activate Launchpad or Exposé and slide between full-screen apps using either three or four fingers to swipe across the trackpad. The default is four, but we prefer to use three. To change it, click the More Gestures tab in the Trackpad pane and make sure the relevant items are checked. Choose “Three fingers” from the drop-down menus. If you set swiping between full-screen apps to use three fingers, make sure you also set the “Swipe between pages” option to two fingers to avoid confusion.
4. Use gestures in QuickTime Player
In addition to system-wide gestures, there are some that only work in specific apps. In QuickTime Player, drag two fingers from left to right across the trackpad to scrub forwards through video. To return to normal speed, just lift your fingers from the trackpad. Drag two fingers from right to left to scrub backwards. The further across the trackpad you drag, the faster the video will go. To enter full-screen mode, spread two fingers across the trackpad. To leave full-screen, pinch with two fingers.
5. Configure scrolling with the Magic Mouse
Apple’s Magic Mouse uses many of the same gestures as the trackpad, and you can customize these as well. To change the direction in which pages scroll when you swipe up and down with one finger, open the Mouse pane in System Preferences and click Point & Click. Uncheck “Scroll Direction: Natural” (that’s “natural” according to Apple, anyway).
You can switch off the right-click option of the Magic Mouse here, if you find the lack of a separate external button confusing (or hard to press with consistency). We find, though, that if you leave it on, you’ll eventually get used to it.
6. Create navigation gestures for the Magic
You can swipe between pages and full-screen apps, as well as activate Mission Control, using gestures on the Magic Mouse. Navigating pages can be done with one or two fingers. If you set it to one, make sure you uncheck the “Swipe between full-screen apps option” in the More Gestures tab of the Mouse pane to avoid potential confusion.
If you don’t use Mission Control, you might want to uncheck the box that allows you to activate it with a double-tap, so you don’t keep launching it by accident. Finally on the mouse front, if you ever want to check your mouse’s battery level, click the Bluetooth menu bar item and hover over the Mouse that’s currently connected to see the charge remaining.
Related Posts
December 6, 2021
7+ Web Design Trends for 2022: Which Will You Use?
December 6, 2021
The 10 Best WordPress Booking Plugins to Use On Your Website
December 6, 2021
How to Use a Web Cache Viewer to View a Cached Page
November 6, 2021
10 Modern Web Design Trends for 2022
November 6, 2021
Best Free SSL Certificate Providers (+ How to Get Started)
November 6, 2021
How to Design a Landing Page That Sends Conversions Skyrocketing
November 6, 2021
What Are the Best WordPress Security Plugins for your Website?
October 6, 2021
Your Guide to How to Buy a Domain Name
October 6, 2021
How to Build a WordPress Website: 9 Steps to Build Your Site
September 6, 2021
10 Best Websites for Downloading Free PSD Files
September 6, 2021
HTML5 Template: A Basic Code Template to Start Your Next Project
September 6, 2021
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website for a Small Business?
September 6, 2021
A List of Free Public CDNs for Web Developers
September 6, 2021
6 Advanced JavaScript Concepts You Should Know
August 6, 2021
10 Simple Tips for Launching a Website
August 6, 2021
25 Beautiful Examples of “Coming Soon” Pages
August 6, 2021
10 Useful Responsive Design Testing Tools
August 6, 2021
Best-Converting Shopify Themes: 4 Best Shopify Themes
July 6, 2021
What Is Alt Text and Why Should You Use It?
July 6, 2021
24 Must-Know Graphic Design Terms
June 6, 2021
How to Design a Product Page: 6 Pro Design Tips
April 6, 2021
A Beginner’s Guide to Competitor Website Analysis
April 6, 2021
6 BigCommerce Design Tips For Big Ecommerce Results
April 6, 2021
Is WordPress Good for Ecommerce? [Pros and Cons]
March 6, 2021
Make Websites Mobile-Friendly: 5 Astounding Tips
March 6, 2021
Shopify vs. Magento: Which Platform Should I Use?
March 6, 2021
Top 5 Web Design Tools & Software Applications
February 6, 2021
Website Optimization Checklist: Your Go-To Guide to SEO
February 6, 2021
5 UX Design Trends to Dazzle Users in 2021
February 6, 2021
What Is the Average Page Load Time and How Can You Do Better?
February 6, 2021
Choosing an Ecommerce Platform That Will Wow Customers
February 6, 2021
7 Best Practices for Crafting Landing Pages with Forms
February 6, 2021
7 B2B Web Design Tips to Craft an Eye-Catching Website
January 6, 2021
Mobile-Friendly Checker | Check Your Site’s Mobile Score Now
January 6, 2021
8 Tips for Developing a Fantastic Mobile-Friendly Website
December 6, 2020
How to Add an Online Store to Your Website [4 Ways]
December 6, 2020
5 UX Design Tips for Seamless Online Shopping
November 6, 2020
Ecommerce Website Essentials: Does Your Site Have All 11?
November 6, 2020
5 Small Business Website Essentials You Need for Your Site
November 6, 2020
Your Website Redesign Checklist for 2020: 7 Steps for Success
May 1, 2020
Psychology of Color [Infographic]
April 21, 2020
How to start an online store that drives huge sales
January 3, 2020
5 Lead Generation Website Design Best Practices
March 6, 2019
6 Reasons You Should Redesign Your Website in 2019
March 6, 2019
7 Web Design Trends for 2019
February 19, 2019
Who owns the website/app source code, client or developer
February 7, 2019
Don’t Let Your Domain Names Expire in 2019
January 8, 2019
2019 Website Development Trends To Note
October 6, 2017
How Web Design Impacts Content Marketing
October 6, 2017
How to Choose a Navigation Setup
August 6, 2017
Why User Experience Matters to Marketing
July 6, 2017
5 Ways Web Design Impacts Customer Experience
September 6, 2016
How to Learn Angular
September 6, 2016
The Excuses for Not Having a Website (Infographic)
September 6, 2016
How to Build an Award-Winning Web Design Team
September 6, 2016
13 Free Data Visualization Tools
August 6, 2016
How Selling Pastries Helped Us Design a Better Product
August 6, 2016
11 Sites to Help You Find Material Design Inspiration
July 4, 2016
How to change free wordpress.com url
April 6, 2016
The 5 Best Free FTP Clients
April 6, 2016
7 Free UX E-Books Worth Reading
March 6, 2016
Can Handwritten Letters Get You More Clients?
December 10, 2015
Star Wars Week: How to create your own Star Wars effects for free
December 6, 2015
20 "Coming Soon" Pages for Inspiration
December 6, 2015
6 Free Tools for Creating Your Own Icon Font
December 6, 2015
9 Useful Tools for Creating Material Design Color Palettes
November 6, 2015
20 Free UI Kits to Download
November 6, 2015
50 Web Designs with Awesome Typography
November 6, 2015
When to Use rel="nofollow"
November 6, 2015
7 Free Books That Will Help You Become More Productive
November 6, 2015
50 Beautiful One-Page Websites for Inspiration
November 6, 2015
Circular Images with CSS
October 6, 2015
Lessons Learned from an Unsuccessful Kickstarter
October 6, 2015
5 Games That Teach You How to Code
October 6, 2015
Cheatsheet: Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts
October 6, 2015
An Easy Way to Create a Freelance Contract for Your Projects
October 6, 2015
50 Design Agency Websites for Inspiration
September 29, 2015
JB Hi-Fi shutting the book on ebooks
September 24, 2015
Opinion: Quick, Quickflix: It's time to give yourself the flick
September 24, 2015
New Star Wars 360-degree video is among first on Facebook
September 21, 2015
Apple purges malicious iPhone and iPad apps from App Store
September 12, 2015
Apple's new Live Photos feature will eat up your storage
September 12, 2015
The latest Windows 10 Mobile preview has been delayed
September 12, 2015
IBM buys StrongLoop to add Node.js development to its cloud
September 8, 2015
Fake Android porn app takes your photo, then holds it ransom
September 6, 2015
50 Restaurant Websites for Inspiration
September 6, 2015
Zero UI — The Future of Interfaces
September 6, 2015
50 Beautiful Websites with Big Background Images
September 6, 2015
Infographic: 69 Web Design Tips
September 6, 2015
Free Windows 10 Icons
September 2, 2015
Instagram turns itself into a genuine messaging service
August 11, 2015
In Depth: How Microsoft taught Cortana to be more human
August 11, 2015
Windows 10 price, news and features
August 11, 2015
Windows 10's broken update introduces endless reboot loop
August 11, 2015
Windows 10 races to 27m installs
August 11, 2015
Windows 10 IoT Core gets first public release
August 10, 2015
iOS Tips: How to backup iPhone to an external drive
August 10, 2015
Windows 8.1 RT finally getting Windows 10 Start Menu
August 10, 2015
How to use Windows Hello
August 10, 2015
Review: Moto Surround
August 10, 2015
Review: Moto G (2015)
August 9, 2015
8 of the best free VPN services
August 8, 2015
Use Firefox? Mozilla urges you update ASAP
August 7, 2015
Mac Tips: Apple Mail: How to remove the Favorites Bar
August 7, 2015
How to make the OS X dock appear faster
August 7, 2015
Review: BQ Aquaris E45 Ubuntu Edition
August 7, 2015
Review: Acer Liquid Jade Z
August 6, 2015
How to reinstall Linux
August 6, 2015
How to reinstall Windows
August 6, 2015
Updated: Apple Music: release date, price and features
August 6, 2015
Social News Websites for Front-End Developers
August 6, 2015
10 Free JavaScript Books
August 6, 2015
50 Beautiful Blog Designs
August 6, 2015
Animated SVG Pipes Effect
August 6, 2015
Launching Your First App
August 5, 2015
Windows 10 goes freemium with paid apps
August 5, 2015
Updated: Week 1 with Windows 10
August 5, 2015
Mac Tips: How to manage Safari notifications on Mac
August 5, 2015
Microsoft Sway may kill the PowerPoint presentation
August 4, 2015
Microsoft gives Outlook on the web a new look
August 4, 2015
Mac OS X vulnerable to new zero-day attack
August 4, 2015
Windows 10 users warned of two scams
August 4, 2015
Microsoft's Docs.com is now available to everyone
August 3, 2015
Mac Tips: How to edit the Favorites sidebar on Mac
August 3, 2015
Updated: Windows 10 price, news and features
July 29, 2015
Review: HP ProDesk 405 G2
July 29, 2015
Hands-on review: HP Elite x2 1011
July 29, 2015
Hands-on review: Updated: Windows 10 Mobile
July 29, 2015
Review: Updated: Nvidia Shield Android TV
July 28, 2015
LIVE: Windows 10 launch: Live Blog!
July 28, 2015
How to prepare for your upgrade to Windows 10
July 28, 2015
Review: Updated: Windows 10
July 28, 2015
Review: Updated: HP Pro Tablet 608
July 28, 2015
Review: Heat Genius
July 28, 2015
Hands-on review: Moto X Play
July 28, 2015
Hands-on review: Moto X Style
July 28, 2015
Hands-on review: Moto G (2015)
July 28, 2015
Review: 13-inch MacBook Air (early 2015)
July 28, 2015
Hands-on review: OnePlus 2
July 28, 2015
Review: LG 65EG960T 4K OLED
July 28, 2015
Mac Tips: How to share printers on Mac
July 27, 2015
Apple Music's arrival hasn't opened Pandora's box
July 26, 2015
Review: Garmin Swim
July 25, 2015
How to merge OS X contacts into an existing list
July 25, 2015
Hands-on review: UPDATED: ZTE Axon
July 24, 2015
Mac Tips: How to zoom in on a Mac
July 24, 2015
What Windows 10 means for the enterprise
July 24, 2015
Review: JBL Charge 2 Plus
July 24, 2015
Review: Acer Aspire S7
July 24, 2015
Review: Updated: Canon G3 X
July 24, 2015
Review: Updated: iPad Air 2
July 24, 2015
Review: Thinksound On1
July 24, 2015
Review: Asus Chromebook Flip
July 24, 2015
Review: Garmin Forerunner 225
July 23, 2015
Review: Garmin nuvi 68LM
July 23, 2015
Review: Samsung Galaxy S6 Active
July 23, 2015
Review: Bowers and Wilkins P5 Wireless
July 23, 2015
Review: Dell XPS 15 (2015)
July 21, 2015
Review: Fuji S9900W
July 21, 2015
Review: Updated: Fitbit Surge
July 21, 2015
Review: UE Roll
July 21, 2015
Hands-on review: Ubik Uno
July 20, 2015
Review: Samsung HW-J650
July 20, 2015
Updated: 40 best Android Wear smartwatch apps 2015
July 20, 2015
Review: Acer Chromebook C740 review
July 20, 2015
Review: Huawei Talkband B2
July 20, 2015
Review: Dell Venue 10 7000
July 20, 2015
Review: Intel Core i7-5775C
July 17, 2015
Mac Tips: How to delete locked files on Mac
July 17, 2015
Review: Pebble Time
July 16, 2015
Microsoft just made Windows XP even less secure
July 16, 2015
Windows 8.1 RT is getting an update this September
July 16, 2015
OS showdown: Windows 10 vs Windows 8.1 vs Windows 7
July 16, 2015
Review: Acer CB280HK
July 15, 2015
Windows 10 is ready for new laptops and PCs
July 15, 2015
Explained: How to take a screenshot in Windows
July 15, 2015
Office for Windows 10 appears in latest build
July 14, 2015
Review: ZTE Axon
July 14, 2015
Review: ViewSonic VP2780-4K
July 14, 2015
Hands-on review: SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick
July 14, 2015
Review: Oppo PM-3
July 14, 2015
Review: BT 11ac Dual-Band Wi-Fi Extender 1200
July 14, 2015
Review: Fuji X-T10
July 13, 2015
How to build an SEO strategy for your business
July 13, 2015
Review: Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 15
July 13, 2015
Review: Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7
July 13, 2015
Review: Garmin NuviCam LMT-D
July 13, 2015
Review: Dell Inspiron 13 7000
July 13, 2015
Hands-on review: AstroPi SenseHAT
July 13, 2015
Hands-on review: EE Rook
July 13, 2015
Hands-on review: Updated: HTC Vive
July 12, 2015
Here's the ultimate software list for PC fanatics
July 10, 2015
How to use the new Photos app for Mac
July 10, 2015
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10166 available now
July 10, 2015
Splunk spends big on cybersecurity acquisition
July 10, 2015
Making Windows 10 apps just got a whole lot easier
July 10, 2015
Review: Lenovo LaVie Z 360
July 9, 2015
OS X El Capitan public beta available right now
July 9, 2015
Microsoft finally unveils Office 2016 for Mac
July 9, 2015
Review: Updated: Chromecast
July 9, 2015
Review: Updated: Tesco Hudl 2
July 9, 2015
Review: Lenovo ThinkPad E550
July 9, 2015
Review: Updated: Google Nexus 6
July 8, 2015
What you need to know about Windows Server 2016
July 7, 2015
Microsoft to hike enterprise cloud pricing
July 6, 2015
Hacking Team end up being totally 0wned
July 6, 2015
Review: HP Pro Slate 12
July 6, 2015
Review: Samsung 850 Pro 2TB
July 6, 2015
Review: Asus RT-AC87U
July 6, 2015
Review: Jawbone UP2
July 6, 2015
Reimagining the Web Design Process
July 6, 2015
50 Clean Websites for Inspiration
July 6, 2015
15 Free Books for People Who Code
July 6, 2015
Web Storage: A Primer
July 6, 2015
A Look at Some CSS Methodologies
July 2, 2015
How to install a third party keyboard on Android
July 2, 2015
Review: UPDATED: Asus Zenfone 2
July 2, 2015
Review: Alienware 13
July 2, 2015
Review: HP DeskJet 1010
July 1, 2015
5 issues we want Apple Music to fix
June 13, 2015
Cortana will get its own button on Windows 10 PCs
June 12, 2015
Windows 10 will come with universal Skype app
June 12, 2015
iPad music production: 18 Best apps and gear
June 12, 2015
Windows 10 all set for early enterprise struggle
June 12, 2015
Review: Garmin VIRB Elite
June 11, 2015
Review: Updated: Nvidia Shield Tablet
June 11, 2015
Review: Nokia Lumia 635
June 10, 2015
Microsoft brings more online tweaks to Office 365
June 10, 2015
Mac Tips: How to use Screen Sharing in Mac OS X
June 9, 2015
Hands-on review: Meizu M2 Note
June 9, 2015
Hands-on review: EE 4GEE Action Camera
June 9, 2015
Review: Toshiba 3TB Canvio external hard drive
June 9, 2015
Review: Olympus SH-2
June 8, 2015
Hands-on review: Updated: Apple CarPlay
June 8, 2015
UPDATED: iOS 9 release date, features and news
June 8, 2015
Review: Updated: Roku 2
June 8, 2015
Review: Updated: PlayStation Vue
June 8, 2015
Review: Dell PowerEdge R730
June 8, 2015
Review: Canon SX710 HS
June 7, 2015
UPDATED: iOS 9 release date, features and rumors
June 7, 2015
Review: Lenovo S20-30
June 6, 2015
Free Writing Icons
June 6, 2015
15 CSS Questions to Test Your Knowledge
June 6, 2015
The Best CSS Reset Stylesheets
June 6, 2015
How CSS Specificity Works
June 5, 2015
'Delay' is a new feature in Windows 10
June 5, 2015
Review: Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Plus
June 5, 2015
Latest SEO Marketing tools
June 5, 2015
Review: Nvidia Shield Android TV
June 5, 2015
Review: Honor 4X
June 5, 2015
Review: In Depth: Oppo R5
June 3, 2015
Hands-on review: Huawei P8 Lite
June 3, 2015
How To: How to create eBooks on a Mac
June 3, 2015
Review: Updated: Tidal
June 3, 2015
Review: Canon 750D (Rebel T6i)
June 2, 2015
Review: Updated: Asus ZenWatch
June 2, 2015
Review: Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3
June 2, 2015
Review: Updated: Nokia Lumia 1520
June 2, 2015
Review: Updated: Yotaphone 2
June 2, 2015
Review: Updated: Nokia Lumia 625
June 2, 2015
Review: Creative Muvo Mini
June 1, 2015
Review: Acer TravelMate P645 (2015)
June 1, 2015
Hands-on review: Corsair Bulldog
May 29, 2015
In Depth: NetApp: a requiem
May 29, 2015
July is looking definite for Windows 10 release
May 29, 2015
Hands-on review: Google Photos
May 28, 2015
Mac Tips: The 16 best free GarageBand plugins
May 28, 2015
Review: Canon 760D (Rebel T6s)
May 27, 2015
Review: Lenovo Yoga 3 14
May 27, 2015
Hands-on review: Serif Affinity Photo
May 27, 2015
Review: Garmin Vivoactive
May 26, 2015
Review: Datacolor Spyder5 Elite
May 26, 2015
Hands-on review: Sony Xperia Z3+
May 26, 2015
Review: Epson BrightLink Pro 1410Wi
May 26, 2015
Review: Technics Premium C700
May 26, 2015
Review: Canon EOS M3
May 26, 2015
Review: Updated: HTC One M9
May 26, 2015
Review: Updated: Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
May 25, 2015
Review: Updated: New Nintendo 3DS
May 25, 2015
Updated: 50 best Mac tips, tricks and timesavers
May 25, 2015
Updated: Windows email: 5 best free clients
May 25, 2015
Instagram is planning to invade your inbox
May 25, 2015
Review: Updated: Foxtel Play
May 24, 2015
How Windows 10 will change smartphones forever
May 24, 2015
Review: Vodafone Smart Prime 6
May 24, 2015
Review: Updated: iPad mini
May 22, 2015
Office Now may be Cortana for your work life
May 22, 2015
Review: Updated: Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro
May 22, 2015
Review: Microsoft Lumia 640 LTE
May 22, 2015
Review: Updated: Fitbit Flex
May 21, 2015
Updated: Best free Android apps 2015
May 21, 2015
Review: Asus ZenBook Pro UX501
May 21, 2015
Review: Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear
May 20, 2015
Hands-on review: UPDATED: Asus Zenfone 2
May 20, 2015
OS X 10.11 release date, features and rumors
May 18, 2015
Updated: Best free antivirus software 2015
May 18, 2015
iPhone 6S rumored to launch as soon as August
May 18, 2015
Microsoft ready to pounce and acquire IFS?
May 17, 2015
5 of the most popular Linux gaming distros
May 16, 2015
Review: Acer Chromebook 15 C910
May 16, 2015
Review: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2015)
May 16, 2015
Review: Polk Nue Voe
May 16, 2015
The top 10 data breaches of the past 12 months
May 16, 2015
Hands-on review: Updated: LG G4
May 16, 2015
Review: Updated: Quickflix
May 16, 2015
Review: LG Watch Urbane
May 16, 2015
Review: Razer Nabu X
May 16, 2015
Hands-on review: Updated: Windows 10
May 16, 2015
Review: UPDATED: Moto X
May 16, 2015
Review: Updated: Moto G (2013)
May 12, 2015
Review: TomTom Go 50
May 12, 2015
Review: Updated: Moto G (2014)
May 12, 2015
Review: Garmin Vivofit 2
May 12, 2015
Review: Asus Transformer Book Flip TP300LA
May 11, 2015
Review: MSI GT80 Titan
May 11, 2015
Review: Monster SuperStar BackFloat
May 9, 2015
Review: Updated: Apple Watch
May 7, 2015
5 million internet users infected by adware
May 7, 2015
Review: Updated: New MacBook 2015
May 6, 2015
Android M will be shown at Google IO 2015
May 6, 2015
Review: Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4630
May 6, 2015
Review: Master & Dynamic MH40
May 6, 2015
How to Use Gulp
May 6, 2015
Getting Started with Command-Line Interfaces
May 6, 2015
What It’s Like to Contribute to WordPress
May 6, 2015
Ultimate Guide to Link Types for Hyperlinks
May 6, 2015
11 Things You Might Not Know About jQuery
May 5, 2015
Hands-on review: Updated: PlayStation Now
May 5, 2015
Review: Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 12
May 5, 2015
Review: Updated: iPad Air
May 5, 2015
Review: Panasonic SZ10
May 5, 2015
Review: Updated: Fetch TV
May 4, 2015
Review: Cambridge Audio Go V2
May 3, 2015
Review: Lightroom CC/Lightroom 6
May 2, 2015
5 of the most popular Raspberry Pi distros
May 1, 2015