Mac tricks: trackpad and mouse gestures

A few months ago we brought you a series of tricks for Mac related to commands and keyboard shortcuts in the respective article. And it is that when it comes to convergence from Windows even the operating system of the bitten apple, most users are lost to the differences in interaction between macOS and Windows. That is why this time we bring you a guide with some of the trackpad gestures and the most useful mouse for day to day.

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The most useful trackpad gestures on Mac

All are well known Differences between Windows and Mac. Beyond the use of the applications and the system in general, some of the main dissimilarities are found in the most basic aspects: the use of the trackpad and the mouse.

Then, we leave a series of gestures for both of you that will surely be very useful.

Basic gestures

Actions as simple as double click, item selection or right click turn out to be very different from the Windows system, so it is convenient to know some of these to interact with the Mac in the same way as in this one. Before proceeding, it will be necessary to differentiate between I touched Y pulsation, which are based on the force that we apply on the surface in question.

  • Right click: Touch with both fingers on the trackpad
  • Select text with a touch: tap on the text you want to select (if it does not work, we can activate and deactivate it in the section of Trackpad within System preferences, in the option of Click to click in the section of Point and click)
  • Scroll between pages: Drag two fingers up or down
  • Zoom in webs and images: perform the pinch gesture, similar to how we do it on smartphones
  • Rotate elements: one static finger and another performing an arc shape
  • Rewind or advance in web pages: Drag two fingers to the right or to the left

Advanced gestures

As you may have noticed, the trackpad gestures what we have just seen comprises the basic interaction with a desktop system. Then, we will leave you with other more advanced gestures to streamline the different workflows on Mac. Add that some gestures can only be made if our computer has Force Touch (MacBooks as of 2015).

  • Search definitions or preview files or web pages: Press harder until you feel a second vibration (only compatible with Force Touch)
  • Display all open windows (Mission Control): Drag with three fingers up
  • View all the windows of an open application (Exposé): drag with three fingers downwards (if it does not work, we can activate and deactivate it in the section of Trackpad within System preferences, in the option of Exposé App in the section of More gestures)
  • See the list of installed applications (Launchpad): make a gesture with four fingers
  • See the side notification panel: Drag two fingers from the right to the left from the edge of the trackpad
  • Switch between full-screen applications and desktops: Drag three fingers to the left or right, depending on the location of these

Gestures for the mouse

If you have a official Apple mouse for Mac, surely you have noticed the obvious differences with a traditional one, such as the absence of buttons or the use of a touch panel. Next, we leave you with some useful gestures for the mouse. Mention that if you have a common mouse, you can not perform the relevant gestures for the obvious reasons.

  • Right click: click on the right side of the mouse
  • Scroll between pages: Drag a finger up or down (for traditional mice, it is recommended to turn off the option of Direction of displacement: natural within the section of Trackpad in the System preferences)
  • Zoom in webs and images: double touch with a finger
  • Display all open windows (Mission Control): play two times with two fingers
  • Switch between full-screen applications and desktops: Drag two fingers to the left or right, depending on the location of these
  • Rewind or advance in web pages: drag a finger to the right or to the left

And these are some of some of the trackpad and mouse gestures more useful for the Steve Jobs system. If you know more, we invite you to leave them in the comments section below. See you next time!