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Vinod Sharma

The Mac trackpad is the best one I have ever used.

The Mac trackpad is the most polished one I have ever used, far better than any Windows laptop's. The gestures are what make it that good. Here are the ten worth learning first.

Most of what you relearn after switching takes some getting used to. The trackpad was the opposite. It was the part I loved on day one.

Every laptop trackpad I had owned on Windows was something to put up with. Jumpy, vague, a little frustrating, the kind of thing you work around with a mouse. The Mac's is on another level. The tracking is precise, the click feels right, and the whole thing is the most polished piece of hardware in the machine. I was hooked immediately.

Every laptop trackpad I had used was something to tolerate. The Mac's is the first one I actually loved.

What makes it that good is the gestures. They turn the trackpad into something a mouse cannot match. Here are the ten worth learning first. Most are on by default, and you can see or change all of them in System Settings, under Trackpad.

Tap to clickOne finger tapping the trackpad.
Tap to click
Tap with one finger
A light tap clicks, no pressing down. Switch it on in Trackpad settings if it is not already.
Right-clickTwo fingers tapping the trackpad.
Right-click
Tap with two fingers
This is your right-click. It opens the same menu the right mouse button did.
ScrollTwo fingers moving up and down.
Scroll
Two fingers, up or down
Scroll any page, list, or document.
ZoomTwo fingers spreading apart.
Zoom in or out
Pinch or spread two fingers
Zoom into photos, maps, and PDFs.
Swipe between pagesTwo fingers moving left and right.
Swipe between pages
Two fingers, left or right
Go back and forward, like the browser arrows.
Switch desktops and appsFour fingers moving sideways.
Switch desktops and apps
Three or four fingers, sideways
Slide between full-screen apps and desktops.
Mission ControlFour fingers swiping up.
Mission Control
Swipe up, three or four fingers
See every open window laid out at once.
App ExposéFour fingers swiping down.
App Exposé
Swipe down, three or four fingers
Spread out all the windows of the app you are in.
Show desktopThumb and three fingers spreading apart.
Show desktop
Spread thumb and three fingers
Clear everything out of the way to reach your desktop.
Show all appsThumb and three fingers pinching together.
Show all apps
Pinch thumb and three fingers
Open the grid of all your installed apps.

A few more worth knowing

Double-tap with two fingers to smart-zoom a webpage or PDF. Swipe left from the right edge with two fingers to open Notification Center. Tap with three fingers on a word to look it up. None of these are essential on day one, but they stop feeling like magic once you know they exist.

If you use a Magic Mouse instead of the trackpad, the idea is the same with fewer gestures: one finger to scroll, a tap on the right side to right-click, and a two-finger swipe to move between full-screen apps.

The gestures take a day to wire into your fingers. The trackpad itself you will like right away. Together they become the thing you miss most the moment you are back on a Windows laptop.

For the complete list, including every Magic Mouse gesture and the few that need turning on, see Apple's guide: Use Multi-Touch gestures on Mac.

Frequently asked questions

How do I right-click on a Mac trackpad?

Tap with two fingers. It opens the same menu the right mouse button did. You can also turn on a bottom-right corner click in System Settings > Trackpad.

How do I scroll on a Mac trackpad?

Slide two fingers up or down. Pinch or spread two fingers to zoom, and swipe two fingers left or right to go back and forward.

Where do I change trackpad gestures?

Open System Settings > Trackpad. Every gesture is listed there with a short video, and you can turn each one on or off.