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How to Customize Mac Trackpad Gestures

Tap a step to see how it works.

  1. Open Trackpad in System Settings

    Go to System Settings > Trackpad and you'll see three tabs: "Point & Click," "Scroll & Zoom," and "More Gestures."

  2. Adjust the Point & Click tab

    This tab lets you configure tap to click, secondary click (right-click) style, and the strength of Force Click and haptic feedback.

  3. Adjust the Scroll & Zoom tab

    Turn the two-finger pinch-to-zoom and rotate gestures on or off, along with Smart Zoom (double-tap with two fingers).

  4. Adjust swipe-to-switch gestures in More Gestures

    Change actions like swiping left or right with three fingers to switch between full-screen apps, or swiping up to open Mission Control.

  5. Preview each gesture's video

    Selecting a gesture plays a short video beside it showing the actual finger movement, so you can be sure it's the motion you expect before choosing it.

  6. Why it's useful

    You can switch windows, zoom, and open Mission Control with trackpad gestures alone, no mouse required, which speeds up how you work.

When the default gestures don't feel right

If the default trackpad gestures don't feel natural to you, or a different approach just feels more comfortable, you can fine-tune everything from click behavior to swipe gestures exactly the way you want.

Also check out installing Windows on a Mac with Boot Camp

If you want to get even more out of your Mac, it's worth looking into how to install Windows on it using Boot Camp as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

I changed a gesture by accident and want to undo it.

Reopen the settings screen or the option at the bottom-left of each tab and reset the checkbox to its original state to restore the default.

Can I use the same gestures with a Magic Mouse?

A Magic Mouse supports a different set of gestures than the trackpad; check and configure mouse-specific gestures in the separate Mouse menu in System Settings.