Mac Trackpad Gestures: Save Time With Pinches, Swipes, and Three-Finger Tricks

The trackpad on a MacBook is one of the most capable touchpads made. Beyond moving the cursor and clicking, it responds to a wide range of finger gestures that can save you a great deal of time. Once you learn these gestures, you will find yourself navigating your Mac faster and more comfortably than ever before.

The good news is that most of these gestures are intuitive — they feel like natural movements. Spreading two fingers apart zooms in on a page, which mimics what you might do on a phone screen. Swiping three fingers across the trackpad moves between open apps or desktop spaces. Pinching all four fingers together brings up your app launcher.

You do not need to press hard. The Mac trackpad is "force touch" capable, meaning it can detect light taps as clicks. A normal, light tap anywhere on the trackpad counts as a left click. Pressing firmly gives you additional options, like looking up the definition of a word.

All of these gestures can be customized or turned off in System Settings. To see the full list and watch short video previews of each gesture, go to the Apple menu in the top-left corner, choose System Settings, then click Trackpad. You will see three tabs: Point & Click, Scroll & Zoom, and More Gestures. Each has a small preview video showing the finger movements involved.

These gestures work on all MacBook models, and most also work on Apple's external Magic Trackpad if you use it with a desktop iMac or Mac Mini. Whether you are new to Mac or have used one for years, spending a few minutes with the Trackpad settings can reveal shortcuts you never knew existed.