I bought a MacBook and now what’s next: learning how to use the touchpad
For many people, switching to a MacBook begins with the surprise that even the trackpad works differently here. And it’s not about the little things. On a Mac, the touchpad (also known as a trackpad, or as a separate device, Magic Trackpad) is one of the most important work tools. Apple has been developing support for Multi-Touch gestures for years, and in the system settings you can not only check how individual movements work, but also turn specific gestures on and off and see which of them are supported.
Using all the trackpad functions on a MacBook can really change the comfort of everyday work. Once you master a few basic gestures, you may never think about connecting an external mouse to your laptop again.
Where to start?
It’s worth entering first System Settings > Trackpad. This is where you will find a list of available gestures, their descriptions and settings that allow you to adjust the trackpad operation to your own habits.
If you’re just learning Mac, it’s worth learning a few basics to get started:
- a simple click (including regular and strong),
- two finger tap (usually responsible for the right mouse button),
- two finger scrolling,
- reducing or enlarging by moving your fingers together and apart,
- switching between full screen applications (three fingers left or right),
- Mission Control (three fingers up).
The rest usually comes with time.
Basics you need to know
The first thing is the usual click. On a MacBook, you can press the trackpad anywhere. We also have a function tap to clicki.e. a light tap with one finger without a click/press effect.
The second important thing is additional clickwhich is the equivalent of the right mouse button. On Mac, you can do it by clicking or tapping with two fingers. This is one of those gestures that is worth mastering right away, because without it you won’t get anywhere.
The third absolute basis is two finger scrolling. You slide two fingers up or down to scroll through a page, document, or list.
If your Mac supports Force Toucha stronger click is also available. Additional pressure can trigger other actions, such as viewing the definition of a word, address, event or file.
So much for the absolute basics. Now, feature by feature, we will analyze the entire Trackpad section in Settings.
Point and click – the basics of everyday work
In this tab you will find the most important settings related to basic cursor and click operation. I have already written about some of them, but since we have to go through all the settings, let me not omit anything for the sake of order and convenience (if someone comes across this text looking for only one function).
Movement speed
It’s simply the sensitivity of the indicator. The higher you set this parameter, the less movement of your finger on the trackpad will be enough for the cursor to cover a larger part of the screen. If you feel that the pointer is moving too slowly or, on the contrary, too nervously, this is where you should play with the slider.
Click force
This setting determines how hard you have to press the trackpad to perform a regular click. For some, a lighter click will be more comfortable, for others, a more firm resistance.
Powerful click and haptic responses
This is a feature specific to Force Touch trackpads. Such touchpads recognize pressure differences and, when pressed harder, can trigger additional actions. Strong click it can, for example, show a word definition, event details, an address, or a file preview. Haptic responses these, in turn, are subtle reactions felt under your finger that make the interaction with the trackpad seem more “physical” – you feel that something has clicked, but in fact it’s just a clever vibration.
Data checking and detectors
This function can be assigned to two gestures: “Click firmly with one finger” or “Tap with three fingers” It is used to quickly check words and recognize data such as addresses, dates and phone numbers.
Clicking an additional button
This is the equivalent of the right mouse button. In my opinion, it’s best to attribute the gesture here “Click or tap with two fingers”. The function works as if we pressed it on the keyboard Control+click (equivalent to right mouse button on Windows).
Clicking with a tap
This is an option that allows you to click without physically pressing the trackpad. Just lightly tap with one finger. For many people, it is more convenient, faster and simply more pleasant than the classic click with noticeable pressure.
Scrolling and zooming – this is where convenience begins
The second tab in the touchpad settings focuses primarily on what will make it easier for us to work with documents, pages, photos and more complex programs.
Natural scrolling
This setting determines the scroll direction. When you swipe up with two fingers, content behaves as if you were pushing the page up – just like on a smartphone. For some people this is immediately intuitive, others prefer it when moving up moves the content down.
Reduce or enlarge
It’s the classic zoom in and out by pinching and spreading two fingers. The function works on websites, PDFs and photos, among others, so the gesture quickly becomes something completely natural.
Smart Zoom
It’s a gesture of double-tap with two fingers. It is used to quickly zoom in and out of a selected place on a page or document. It’s a simple shortcut that can actually save you a lot of time, especially when you don’t want to make the full spread gesture every time.
Rotation
This gesture allows you to rotate photos or other items by rotating the trackpad with two fingers. You don’t use it as often as scrolling or zooming, but it’s good to know that you have something like this at hand, especially when working with graphics or photos.
More gestures – yes, there is more of that
It is in this tab that you will find functions that, in many cases, made MacBook users say goodbye to Windows laptops once and for all.
Change page with a swipe
You swipe left or right with two fingers to go to the previous or next page (e.g. in a web browser). It is mainly useful in Safari and other applications that support this type of navigation.
Change full screen app with a swipe
This is one of the most convenient gestures in the entire system. It allows you to instantly switch between applications open in full screen and desktop. Depending on the settings you choose, just swipe left or right with three or four fingers. If you work in several programs or on several desktops, you will quickly love the comfort of working with this shortcut.
Notification Center
This gesture is a swipe two fingers from the right edge to the left. Thanks to it, you can immediately open the notification center and check alerts, widgets, weather or calendar, without clicking on the corner of the screen.
Mission Control
This is one of my favorite gestures on the Mac. Mission Control shows all open windows, desks and workspaces in one view. If you have a lot of applications open, this gesture quickly becomes necessary to quickly switch between individual windows.
Application exposé
Expose shows all windows of the currently used application. This is a great shortcut when, for example, you have several Safari windows, several documents, or several sheets and you want to quickly switch between them without searching for them all over the screen.
Show the desk
The gesture involves spreading the thumb and three fingers apart. All windows then move sideways and reveal the desktop.
Why is the trackpad on a MacBook so important?
It’s not just about the trackpad surface itself, but about the entire way you interact with the system. Apple has been developing Multi-Touch gestures as an integral part of the macOS experience for years. In practice, this means that the trackpad is not just a replacement for the mouse, but a separate, very refined way of controlling the system.
In models with Force Touch, there is also pressure force detection and haptic feedback, which make using the trackpad even more precise.
The only correct touchpad
When switching to a Mac, many people initially try to use the trackpad as they would on Windows. This is natural, but this is where it’s easy to miss one of the biggest advantages of Apple laptops. The trackpad in a MacBook is the central element of the system. Once you learn a few basic gestures and adjust the settings to suit you, your work will become faster, smoother and simply more comfortable.
