How do you right click on a mouse for a Mac or MacBook Pro? How do you right click on a Mac without a mouse, but with a touchpad? And, how do you right click on a touchpad without buttons? Here's how to right click on any Mac, whether it's a laptop or desktop, with keyboard shortcuts, a mouse, or a Mac trackpad.
Related: How to Find iPad Keyboard Shortcuts in iPadOS 15
How to Right Click on a Mac & MacBook with Touchpad, Mouse & Keyboard
You need to know how to right click on a Mac laptop or desktop to bring up menus and use important functions like copy and paste, saving, deleting, and more. Here's how to right click on a MacBook or Mac with a trackpad, mouse, or with your keyboard. For more great keyboard shortcuts tutorials, check out our free Tip of the Day.
How to Right Click on a Mac with a Trackpad, Magic Trackpad & Magic Trackpad 2
If your Mac has a built-in Multi-Touch trackpad or a Bluetooth accessory like the Magic Trackpad or Magic Trackpad 2, you can use the right-click function by tapping the trackpad with two fingers at the same time. You'll feel a click when the gesture is completed successfully, unless you're using a Magic Trackpad 2 or a newer MacBook with a Force Trackpad, in which case you'll feel haptic feedback.
Here's how to set custom trackpad gestures on Mac.
How to Right Click on a Mac with a Magic Mouse & Magic Mouse 2
Apple's Magic Mouse and Magic Mouse 2 easily connect to your Mac via Bluetooth but can be a bit difficult to learn to use since they don't have a separate right-click button. Don't worry, though; it's easy to use the right-click function. You can click anywhere in the top two thirds of a Magic Mouse, and it will register. Click on the left side for standard left-click functions, click on the right for right-click ones.
You can even change which functions are controlled by a left or right click. To do this:
- Click on the Apple menu, then click System Preferences.
![mac system preferences]()
- Select Mouse.
![click mouse in system preferences]()
- Click the downward arrow next to Click on right side under Secondary click.
- Select Click on left side to reverse your right and left side controls.
![secondary mouse click preferences]()
Related: How to Cut, Copy & Paste Using Mac Keyboard Shortcuts
How to Right Click on a Mac with a Keyboard Shortcut
You can also use a keyboard shortcut to reveal right-click menu options. To do this.
- Press and hold the Control key on your keyboard.
![control button apple keyboard]()
- Left click on your mouse.
That's it! Want more Mac keyboard shortcuts? Learn how to use the Emoji keyboard shortcut, and how to take a screenshot on Mac.
