I’m trying to right-click on my Mac but can’t figure it out. I need this function to navigate through some software, and I’m not sure if there’s a shortcut or specific trick to it. Any help on this?
Oh boy, right-clicking on a Mac, huh? They really tried to make it as unintuitive as possible, didn’t they? Anyway, here’s the secret sauce: if you’re using a Mac trackpad, you don’t technically have a separate “right-click” button like on a PC. What you gotta do is either press on the trackpad with two fingers at the same damn time (magic, right?) or go into System Preferences > Trackpad > Point & Click, and make sure “Secondary click” is enabled.
If you’re rocking a Magic Mouse, same deal—head into System Preferences > Mouse, and you’ll see an option to enable a “Secondary click.” Once that’s turned on, you can click on the right side of the mouse for the fabled right-click.
No trackpad or Magic Mouse? USB mouse users, rejoice! Right-click works out of the box on most of those, just like it would on a Windows computer. Doing homework, Apple? Meh.
Of course, if you’re into keyboard shortcuts (because why not complicate things further?), you can press Control and then click with the regular click button, which achieves the same result. Bonus points for looking like a hacker while doing it.
Honestly, right-clicking on a Mac definitely feels like a hidden side quest. While @chasseurdetoiles covered the essentials (two fingers on the trackpad, enabling “Secondary click,” or using Control + click), let me throw another option into the mix.
If you’re not up for fiddling with settings or don’t vibe with two-finger clicks, you might wanna try corner tapping. Go to System Preferences > Trackpad > Point & Click, and you’ll see an option to set the bottom-right or bottom-left corner of the trackpad as the “secondary click” zone. This way, you can pretend your trackpad is actually trying to be a normal mouse.
My only beef with this whole thing is why Mac doesn’t just ship with right-click enabled properly out of the box. Like, who decided that usability needed to feel like solving a puzzle? Anyway, between corner tapping, two-finger magic, and Control + click, it’s all about finding what works for you. If all else fails… maybe just plug in a cheap USB mouse and call it a day.