One of the best things about MacOS is that it supports a wide range of useful trackpad gestures. These gestures, along with the generous and responsive trackpad “found on the largest and largest laptops on laptops”, make browsing your Mac absolutely easy.
You may already know one or two gestures, but there are plenty of little-known swipes and tabs to unlock add-ons on your Mac. Learning some of the most useful gestures is absolutely worth it. That's because it can have a significant impact on how you can quickly browse your Mac and get things done.
How to open the launchpad
Want to open an app quickly? The quickest and easiest way to navigate the app is to use the Launchpad. Launchpad gives you a quick overview of all your installed apps so you can open them with just one tap.
To get started, place three fingers and your thumb on the trackpad and pinch your fingers together. An overlay appears showing the grid of app icons. To close the launchpad, reverse the gesture.
How to display your desktop
When you open your three fingers and thumb, which is the opposite of the launchpad gesture, the open app disappears and the desktop is displayed. This is useful if you have a file that you want to access your desktop.
This is especially useful if you want to compose an email and attach a file, for example. Use this gesture to display your desktop, and then drag the file to the Mail icon in the Dock. The icon flashes a few times, then an email is displayed and you can attach the file by dropping it on the file.
How to drag with three fingers
If you're using a trackpad, dragging and dropping files can be a bit tricky. This is especially true if you need to drag files long distances. Fortunately, Apple can use three finger drag instead to find it more comfortable.
To activate System Preferences click accessibilityThen click Pointer control Click in left column Trackpad optionsClick on it and then check the box next to it Enable drag Select Three finger drag From the drop down menu
How to use Force Click
Can you see the word you're looking for? Just tap with one finger (or tap with three fingers on some MacOS versions). You'll see a pop-up window containing dictionary definitions, synonym dictionary entries, and information from Siri, map data, video duration, and more.
This works in what Apple calls a "data detector." You can follow up on MacOS, including your address, phone number, email address, and web link. For example, clicking a link displays a pop-up preview of the web page. This gesture can be very useful for many purposes.
How to open mission control
The longer you use your Mac throughout the day, the more apps and windows you can use. It can be cumbersome to manage, especially if you need to find one particular window out of many open windows.
But quickly swiping with four fingers solves this problem. This will call the mission control so you can see all the open windows at a glance. Then click on what you need and it will open. If you have multiple desktops, you can also use Mission Control to manage them.
How to hide all other apps
On the other hand, if you only want to see the window for one specific app, just swipe down with four fingers. This invokes App Exposé, which hides other windows and only shows windows belonging to the active app.
To use this gesture you must first enable this gesture. open System Preferences click Track padafter that More gestures Tab at the top of the window. It's great if you check the box next to App Exposé.
How to switch desktops
If you have multiple desktop fans, you can switch between desktops faster than using Mission Control. Drag with four fingers across the trackpad to easily switch from one desktop to another.
If you've opened multiple apps in full-screen mode, you'll need to use the same four-finger drag to switch between apps instead, so you'll need to use mission control gestures to move between desktops.
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