Someone using touchpad on laptop
There are a variety of commands you can perform with your Mac's touchpad or mouse.
Ye Naiquan /EyeEm/Getty Images
  • Your MacBook’s touchpad has a number of different commands that can let you zoom, rotate images, reveal extra options, and more.
  • If you’re using the official Apple Magic Mouse, there are even more commands you can use.
  • To change how commands work, or what they do, open the System Preferences app.
  • Visit Business Insider’s Tech Reference library for more stories.

Your MacBook’s built-in Multi-Touch trackpad (or external Magic Trackpad) can respond to a number of commands (like tapping, swiping, and pinching) using one or more fingers. Apple’s Magic Mouse can also respond to a variety of commands.

Once you’ve tested out the touchpad or mouse commands, you can then customize them however you like – you can even disable them altogether, if you prefer.

How to perform touchpad commands on a Mac

Macbook Air 2019 trackpad and keyboard
The touchpad isn't just for clicking.
Phil Barker/Future Publishing via Getty Images
  • Click: Click or tap using one finger to click. This action mimics the left-click on a traditional computer mouse.
  • Secondary click: Click or tap using two fingers. This action mimics the right-click on a traditional computer mouse.
  • Scroll: Slide two fingers up or down the trackpad to scroll up or down.
  • Smart zoom: Double-tap with two fingers to zoom in and out of a webpage or PDF.
  • Zoom in and out: Using two fingers, make a pinching motion to zoom in and out.
  • Rotate: Move two fingers around each other on the trackpad to rotate an image.
  • Swipe between pages: Swipe two fingers left or right to show the previous or next page.
  • Show desktop: Spread your thumb and three fingers to show the desktop.
  • Swipe between full-screen apps: Swipe four fingers left or right to toggle between full-screen apps.
  • Show all active apps: Swipe up with three fingers to zoom out of your current window, and see every app that’s currently open.

For details on additional trackpad gestures, check out this Apple Support page.

How to perform commands on your Mac’s Magic Mouse

magic mouse 2
The Magic Mouse's glass cover is also a touchpad of its own.
Apple
  • Click: Click the left side of the mouse to click, like you would on any other computer mouse.
  • Secondary click: Click the right side of the mouse, like you would on a traditional computer mouse.
  • Scroll: Slide one finger up or down the Magic Mouse to scroll up or down.
  • Smart zoom: Double-tap with one finger to zoom in and out of a webpage or PDF.
  • Swipe between pages: Swipe one finger left or right to show the previous page or next page.
  • Swipe between full-screen apps: Swipe two fingers left or right to toggle between full-screen apps.

For details on additional Magic Mouse gestures, check out this Apple Support page.

How to change trackpad or mouse commands

Click the Apple icon at the top of the screen, then click “System Preferences” from the drop-down menu. Click “Trackpad” or “Mouse” to see a list of available gestures.

Here, you can turn gesture-activated commands on or off, or change the gesture for a specific command.

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