Make the most of your trackpad or mouse

Get to grips with gestures

>Trackpad gestures are brilliant things, and you can see the available ones in System Preferences > Trackpad. Here you’ll find options for different kinds of swipes and taps.

Spreading your thumb and three fingers shows the desktop, while a three-finger tap looks up the selected item. You can also use this setting to fine-tune your Trackpad’s response, so for example if you want a little movement to go a long way you can make the tracking speed faster; for detail work you can slow it down. You can also adjust how firmly you need to push for a click.

Make the most of your mouse

> One of the first things many people do with a new Mac is go into System Preferences > Mouse and uncheck Scroll Direction: Natural. This preference pane also enables you to adjust the tracking speed – faster means more movement with less effort – and whether your mouse is left- or right-handed. If you have a third-party mouse from the likes of, say, Logitech the manufacturer may also have its own dedicated app for fine-tuning and button programming.