How to right click on a Mac notebook
May 24, 2008
If you have just moved over to the Macintosh platform you have probably realized there is no apparent right-click button located on Apple notebook computers. Rest assured there is a right-click feature, it justs takes a few simple steps and then you can start right-clicking easily.
Right-Clicking On A Portable Mac
1. Open up System Preferences.
2. Go to the Keyboard & Mouse preference pane.
3. Go to the Trackpad section.
4. Select the option under “Trackpad Gestures†that says “Tap trackpad using two fingers for secondary clickâ€.
5. Now, all you have to do in order to right-click, is tap the trackpad with two fingers and press the trackpad button with your thumb and the right-click drop-down menu will appear.
6. Another way to accomplish this is to press the Control key (ctrl) while you click with the trackpad button (on the trackpad) and it will serve as the same feature.
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17 Responses to “How to right click on a Mac notebook”
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Wow, all that just to right click? I thought macs were supposed to simplify things?…..
Two finger tap is easy. How do you right click on a PC without a mouse? Macs all accept multi-button mice, so right click is the same as a PC or user configurable when you have a mouse.
The article is wrong about pressing the track pad button with your thumb (where did that come from?)… you only do a two finger tap, which is sweet, and very natural.
Regards.
On my MacBook Pro Apple’s ingenious software solution to provide a “right click” function is exactly as described in the article.
The function is setup via System Preferences / Keyboard and Mouse / Trackpad.
LLbean must be using software other than that provided by Apple to get the function following just a two finger tap.
Use a mouse you retards.
I don’t know why all the articles explaining right-click enabling on Macs fail to mention you can just do a two finger tap. Sure, placing two fingers on the trackpad and pushing down the trackpad button sends a right click, but why not just do the much easier and natural two finger tap?
It’s just like tapping the pad to click with one finger, except you use two. Another finger is probably hovering right above the trackpad anyway.
And damnit, why doesn’t Apple have this enabled by default?! This, and the firewall should definitely be on by default on every new Mac.
Many options in OS X:
* Double Finger Click
* Double Tap
* Hold Ctrl and Click the Left Mouse Button
* Plug a mouse in with more than 1 button
Many Options in Windows:
* Ctrl-Shift-F10
* Contextual Menu Key on the Keyboard.
* Right Click Button on the trackpad.
* Bonus: The mouse already has a Right Click Button.
Just an amendment to ercro’s post -
Many options in OS X:
* Double Finger Click
* Double Tap
* Hold Ctrl and Click the Left Mouse Button
* Plug a mouse in with more than 1 button
* Bonus: The mouse has four buttons and a 360 degree scroll wheel.
Many Options in Windows:
* Ctrl-Shift-F10
* Contextual Menu Key on the Keyboard.
* Right Click Button on the trackpad.
* Bonus: The mouse already has a Right Click Button.
@sayswho
The Mighty Mouse isn’t that great though.
@encro
Lacking a right click button on a laptop has some advantages as you can use the whole button for left click when you don’t need right click which is really useful when I use my right hand for the mouse I can then put my thumb on the right end of the button and still click.
It’s a nice workaround but I’d still love to have a real hardware mouse… an actual, grown-up, two button mouse.
It should NEVER take two hands to do on a Mac what it takes one finger to do in Windows.
I prefer the simplicity of the Mac, with the option of plugging in any mouse if I want, and I never do.
On Windows, you don’t have a choice due to the poorly-designed interface.
1. whatever you need to “right click” on is in a million other places in every application if none of the myriad of right-click options works for you.
2. if you’re concerned with using a computer quickly and efficiently, you should be using it with your other hand on the keyboard — right by that control button that you can use to right click AND all those other handy keys, like COMMAND, which IS INFINITELY MORE USEFUL THAN RIGHT CLICK ANYWAY.
3. I’d rather have a simple, great design than the crappy trackpads on PCs
Someone said that setting up right-clicking makes the Mac less simple. I counter that by stating the Mac is MUCH simpler by never needing a second button to begin with. That said, I prefer having “right” click on.
Okay, to get the Two-Finger-Right-Click functionality, you need to have “Tap to Click” enabled. Once that is enabled, the two finger tap will be enabled.
MacTipper
[...] a laptop, you’ve got another option. MacSupport points out this simple method of using a “two-finger tap” in place of a right click. To set things [...]
[...] a laptop, you’ve got another option. MacSupport points out that simple method of using a “two-finger tap” in place of a right visit. To set [...]
[...] button or — wait for it — buying a two-button mouse.On a laptop, you’ve got another option. MacSupport points out this simple method of using a “two-finger tap” in place of a right click. To set things up, follow [...]
The Mighty Mouse isn’t that great? Are you kidding? The track button is so much simpler and easier to use than a scroll wheel on a PC mouse. The feel alone is worth its price.
Right-clicking with your fingers on the trackpad or using the control key plus a click becomes really intuitive after doing it a few times. But so does taking a shower!