How to Customize Trackpad Gestures on a Mac

Are you new to macOS and still haven’t mastered the trackpad gestures? Here we show you each one and the level of customization it can have, in addition to solving common errors

We all remember that epic moment during the first iPhone presentation when the ability to zoom in on the screen was shown. A gesture so common today with the fingers, as if it were a pinch. Gestures have been moved to other devices including the Mac via the trackpad, although it is also possible to do this with a Magic Mouse. If you have just upgraded from Windows to macOS and you don’t yet use gestures in your daily navigation, We’ll show you the different gestures that exist on Mac and how to use them..

MacBook or iMac? It doesn’t matter, gestures are available on macOS

The trackpad is integrated into the case of a portable Mac and in In the case of the iMac, you can buy one for an additional cost of 50 dollars when you first purchase from Apple. If you already own the iMac and want the accessory, the cost is 135 dollars in white and 155 in black.

The surface is tactile and allows finger gestures. Unlike the Magic Mouse, the trackpad integrates a greater number of gestures due to its large size.

This Magic Trackpad features Force Touch technology

Explore and use gestures on your Mac’s trackpad

Trackpad settings in macOS

To see all the available gestures, we need to enter the system settings in the Trackpad section. This will be enabled on iMac when the Magic Trackpad is connected. The first gestures are related to pointing and clicking.

Pan and zoom

Here you will see the most common gestures enabled by default.

Move two fingers on the trackpad

Natural movement– With two fingers, you can scroll any macOS page, window or tab

Zoom in or out: as on the iPhone and iPad, with two fingers it is possible to increase or decrease by separating them or bringing them together

Smart Zoom: Double-tap with two fingers to zoom in, ideally according to macOS’s interpretation of where you want it.

Rotation: with two fingers you can rotate any object in an app that allows it

Smart zoom gesture

More gestures

In this section it is possible to change the number of fingers with which the following gestures are performed. You can explore them by clicking on the drop-down list

Change page: with two or two fingers you can go left or right on a page or slide to change gestures

Switch between full-screen apps: This gesture will help you when you use each of your windows in full screen (green button). If you have several applications open you can go left or right with 3 or 4 fingers depending on the desired configuration

Notification Center: activate it by positioning your cursor from the right edge to the left with two fingers

Mission Control– One of the best macOS gestures in which all open windows are displayed in panoramic view on the screen. Do it by moving your fingers up with 3 or 4 fingers

Expose: if you have multiple windows of the same application, you can do the same gesture similar to Mission Control but doing it with 3 or 4 fingers down

Launching ramp: If you don’t like to click every time you want to see your apps in the Finder or Dock icon, you can make a gesture by joining your thumb and 3 fingers

Show office– Spread your thumb and 3 fingers to clear all open windows in macOS

Screenshot of the Mission Control function

I have problems performing gestures, why?

There are difficulties when performing gestures on the trackpad. Try the following solutions to resolve this issue

If you use a wireless touchpadcheck that he has the sufficient battery quantity suitable for operation.

If it is loaded, check the system settings in the Bluetooth section which is connected

If you notice software issues, if another part of macOS is not working in addition to the trackpad, check and apply all pending software updates

The failure could also be physical and not so much system related. Ensures the trackpad is clean and free from dirt such as dust and fingerprintsusing a soft cloth with minimal moisture should be enough to clean it. Be careful not to let any liquids get inside your MacBook or Magic Trackpad

Eventually, in case you have no changes in gesture behavior and the error persists, you must remove multitouch preferences in plist files.

Open the Searcher and in the menu bar Press Go, then locate Home

Hold down the Option key and select Library

Find the Preferences folder and search for the file: com.apple.AppleMultitouchTrackpad.plist

Delete the said file and restart macOS so that the system reintegrates it by default and you can reconfigure the gestures seen previously

Trackpad plist preferences file in Finder

We hope you have a decent navigation with trackpad support. If you don’t want to invest in a trackpad but are interested in the topic of gestures, we offer you this article on How to use iPhone as a trackpad.

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