For first-time Mac users, it's jarring to learn an entirely new operating system and hardware. Just when you get one thing down, you have to figure out something else. Like how to right-click on a Mac. Perhaps you found yourself on the internet, scrolling down a page using your MacBook's trackpad (which Apple calls Force Touch), and then suddenly you wanted to right-click to quickly print something. Or maybe you were in Photoshop and you wanted to right-click to access a secondary menu. There are countless reasons why one might need to right-click on their Mac. Thankfully, it's easy to learn, and once you do, you'll be right-clicking away. 

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How to quickly turn on and customise right-click on a Mac

Apple calls right-clicking on a Mac "secondary click" options. You can do it with the Force Touch trackpad and the Magic TrackPad. But you need to turn it on and customise it within the Settings app on your MacBook or Mac. 

Trackpad

On your Mac, go to Settings app > Trackpad System Preferences > Point and Click to change how your trackpad works. Here, you can toggle on "Secondary click". 

This lets you right-click with your Mac's Force Touch trackpad just like you can right-click on a Windows computer. You're also able to set how it works. You can click or tap using two fingers on the trackpad, or you can click in the bottom left or right corner. We recommend "click or tap with two fingers". With this, simply tap or click anywhere on your Mac's trackpad with your pointer and middle finger together to access secondary menus. 

Mouse

If you use a two-button mouse connected to your Mac, you can just right-click with it. That's the beauty of a two-button mouse. If you’re using Apple’s standard Magic Mouse with its single button, all you need to do is to hold down the Control key while you click. If you want to adjust how rapidly it responds to clicks, dive into Apple menu > System Preferences > Mouse. 

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How to use control-click on a Mac

Apple has a feature called "control-click" that allows you to access shortcut (or contextual) menus. It's similar to a "right-click" on a Windows computer.  When you control-click an icon, a window, the toolbar, the desktop, or another item, the options shown in the menu will vary depending on what you clicked. Control-click is supported on any Mac with a Force Touch trackpad or a Magic TrackPad and Magic Mouse.

To control-click: Press and hold the Control key while you click an item using your trackpad or mouse. 

Want to know more?

Check out Apple's support page for right-clicking on a Mac. It also has support pages for changing secondary click options on your trackpad or on your mouse