How To Right Click On A Mac

When you right-click on the macOS, you’ll get the context menu. Through this menu, you can access a variety of different features provided by your system. Whether it’s to copy, paste or modify a particular file, you must know how to right-click on your Mac.

macOS offers you a few different ways to right-click on the system. You can customize these ways through your System Preference menu. You can further alter your settings to right-click using the keyboard as well. And here in this article, we’ll show you all the different ways to do so on a Mac computer.

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How to Right Click on a Mac?

The process to perform a right-click is generally similar for both mouse and trackpads. There are a few different ways to do so, and all of them are listed below.

Control Click

You can imitate a right-click on your computer by making use of both the mouse and the keyboard. If you hold down the Control button on your keyboard and normally click your mouse/trackpad, you’ll open the context menu. Hence, the Control + Click button configuration initiates a right click on your system.

Two Fingers Click

This method is only applicable to users who use the trackpad instead of a mouse. By default, if you click your trackpad by using two fingers at the same time, it emulates a right click. However, you can customize this setting for the System Preferences, and the steps to do so are shown below.

Customize Your Secondary Click

macOS provides you the option to change how you right-click on your system. If you are using a mouse, you have the option to emulate a right click by pressing either the left or right side of your mouse. However, this option is only applicable if you have an Apple Magic Mouse.

Similarly, for the trackpad, you can imitate a right click by pressing either the left corner of the trackpad or the right. Here’s how to access and change these settings:

For Mouse

Open Finder.
From the menu bar, go to Apple > System Preferences.
Open Mouse settings.
Navigate to the Point & Click tab.
Here, first, mark the Secondary Click option.
Then, from the dropdown menu, choose how you’d like to resemble a right-click.

For Trackpad

Open Finder.
From the menu bar, go to Apple > System Preferences.
Open Trackpad settings.
Navigate to the Point & Click tab.
Here, first, mark the Secondary Click option.
Then, from the dropdown menu, choose how you’d like to resemble a right-click.

Using Two-button Mouse

Mac computers support both wired and wireless mouse input. So, if you have a Non-Apple mouse with at least two buttons, you can connect it to the system and simply click the right-side button to open the context menu.

However, since USB ports are not preset on a Mac, you most likely have to invest in a USB hub to plug the mouse into your system. And if you choose to use a wireless mouse instead, you first have to pair it with your Mac. Here’s how to do so:

Open Finder.
From the menu bar, go to Apple > System Preferences.
Open Bluetooth settings.
Then, Turn Bluetooth On.
Power on your wireless mouse.
Let your system scan for available devices.
When your mouse gets discovered, click Connect beside it to pair it with your computer.

Using the Keyboard

macOS has a built-in feature that lets you control your mouse using the keyboard. But when you enable this feature, your keyboard will discard its general workflow. That is, you will not be able to type normally. The entire keyboard will imitate a mouse’s functionality. So, considering this, here’s how you can enable Mouse Keys on your computer:

Open Finder.
From the menu bar, go to Apple > System Preferences.
Open Accessibility settings.
From the left sidebar, click on Pointer Control.
Select Alternate Control Methods.
Mark the Enable Mouse Keys option.
You can now press either Fn + Control + I or Control + I to right-click on your screen.