Wondering how to right click on a Mac? You are not alone. Many years ago Apple was famous for the fact that a one-button mouse is the best solution, not a two-button mouse preferred by Windows users. The legacy of this decision was a lot of confusion about right-clicking on a Mac.
How do you click the right mouse button on a Mac?
Even with a two-button mouse available for use with Mac computers, the question still remains. Even if you know how to right-click on a Mac, there are many people who are unsure, perhaps because they have moved from a computer to a Mac and are not clear about the key combinations.
Right click, but how?
During the first two decades of Mac’s life, he was known for having only one mouse button. This was contrary to the Windows PC, which had two mouse buttons; one for left-clicks and one for right-clicks.
Use mouse and keyboard
Using the Mac mouse, there was no option to right-click. Since a Mac has only one mouse button, you need to press Ctrl and click the mouse button at the same time to get the right click.
Ctrl + click is the equivalent of right-clicking. Thanks to applications and websites that support the right-click function, pressing Ctrl + Click will obtain the same results as right-clicking on a traditional mouse.
Use the trackpad
Use two fingers on the trackpad.
If you have a trackpad and want to right-click, you can use two fingers to click.
If that doesn’t work, you may need to configure it in System Preferences. Open System Preferences by clicking the gear icon in the Dock or by clicking the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen, then System Preferences. Then click Trackpad, and in Trackpad preferences, select “Click with two fingers” next to Secondary click. There are many other gestures that you can set here: How to use gestures on the MacBook trackpad.
Use the trackpad corner
Tap on the corner of the trackpad.
Perhaps tapping with two fingers is not the most intuitive way to right-click. If so, you can click the trackpad corner when you want to right-click.
To set this preference, you must re-select System Preferences. This time, instead of selecting “Click or tap with two fingers” select “Click in the lower right corner” or “Click in the lower left corner”.
How can I change the speed of double-clicking a mouse?
Most people are used to the standard double-click speed of the mouse. However, other people have different requirements, which means they need to adjust the speed of the double-click of the mouse.
In fact, you can modify your Mac’s waiting time to make a second click (double-click).
This is very important if your fingers are moving relatively slower than the standard double-click speed. Here’s how to change the double-click speed:
- Step 1 – Open System Preferences and go to the Accessibility panel
- Step 2 – In the left side of the sidebar, click Mouse and trackpad
- Step 3 – you can find the slider titled “Double click speed”. Drag it toward the left to let the Mac wait longer for the second double-click. Done.
