How To Right-Click on Mac

Right-clicking on a Mac opens a new set of commands. Here are a few ways to pull up right-click menus and disable them:

Using your Mac’s keyboard

On your keyboard, press and hold the Control button and using your mouse or trackpad, click or tap on anything that has a right-click menu. This right-click method is the default. Meaning you don’t need to go into “System Preferences” to set it.

Note: There are web pages that don’t allow right-clicking to prevent copyright issues. So if this doesn’t work on a specific web page, try this method somewhere else on your Mac.

Trackpad

To right-click using your trackpad, tap with two fingers. That should register as a right-click on your Mac and open a specific set of commands. If the gesture didn’t register or execute a different command, you can go into “System Preferences”, where you can set your secondary click or right-click to be triggered by this gesture. Then, follow these steps to change your trackpad’s right-click gesture:

1. Launch System Preferences.

2. Go to Trackpad.

3. Open the dropdown menu for Secondary click under the Point & Click tab, and choose how you want to open right-click menus on your Mac. You can choose between:

• • Click or tap with two fingers
  • Click in the bottom right corner
  • Click in the bottom left corner

4. Whichever gesture you select, the window you’re in will demonstrate the action.

Note: You can also disable right-clicking on your Mac by unchecking the Secondary click box.

Magic Mouse

The default action for right-clicking with a Magic Mouse is clicking on its right side. You can change this under “System Preferences.” Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Launch System Preferences.

2. Go to Mouse.

3. Open the dropdown menu for Secondary click under the Point & Click tab, and choose how you want to open right-click menus. You can choose between:

• • Click or tap with two fingers
  • Click on the right side
  • Click on the left side

4. Whichever gesture you select, the window you’re in will play a demonstration.

Universal Mouse

A universal mouse works for all operating systems with no custom gestures. The default way to right-click on your Mac is through the right-click button.

If you want to change the default gesture, follow these steps:

1. Launch System Preferences.

2. Go to Mouse.

3. Open the dropdown menu for Secondary click under the Point & Click tab, and choose how you want to open right-click menus. You can choose between:

• • Click on the right side
  • Click on the left side

4. The window will play a demonstration of the action.