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0 pointsTonyTrapp2y ago0 comments

> Even more interesting is when I see my partner try to do something on my Mac using a trackpad, he seems... apprehensive? Like he is so afraid of doing the wrong thing and for me this trackpad has never done something I didn't want it to do. Like without even thinking about it while I was re-reading this comment, I had fingers just resting on my trackpad.

I think I'll never "get" drag&drop on MacBook touchpads. Every time I try to do it, I accidentally open the file info, or the touchpad is too small to actually reach the place where I want to drop the file to. It is absolutely doing things I don't want it to do. I absolutely dread having to use the touchpad. (that applies to other laptops too, though)

0 comments

nerdjon2y ago

Since you mention the touchpad being too small, are you trying to drag and drop with one finger or multiple?

What I always just do is click with my thumb and move around with my other fingers. As long as my thumb stays down it stays selected. Then just a few quick swipes with my finger gets whatever it is I am selecting where I want to go.

Same works for windows and anything you click and drag. Admittedly there is a quirk here that I have noticed, if for some reason I click and try to drag with the same finger, I then can't switch to dragging around with a different finger.

But personally I treat my thumb just resting no the track pad as my click finger and move/gesture with my other fingers.

pico3032y ago

This is 100% the way to do it.

It just came so naturally because I’ve used Macs for years. But I’ve noticed on Linux and Windows laptops (even Windows on an Intel MacBook) this approach doesn’t work. I find it so frustrating when I have to use a trackpad with any other OS, I completely understand all those users carrying around a mouse to use with their laptop, and why they look at us like we’re nuts!

nerdjon2y ago

You know I never really thought about where that habit came from. It’s been so long that it’s just second nature at this point, I dont think about it anymore than I think about typing or using a game controller.

That presents an interesting problem. The older physical click trackpads had a physical thing to encourage a specific use of it. Now that the device doesn’t care where you click, there is no longer something there to naturally find using it in this way.

fernmyth2y ago

This works on my system76 lemur pro 10 with pop!_os: - click and hold on the touchpad with thumb - swipe with another finger to drag around. Multiple, disjoint strokes work, so there's nothing special about switching fingers

It would be a bit uncomfortable to do for long periods, since my thumb has to hold down with clicking force.

Sakos2y ago

On that note, why is this possible on iOS but not Android? It's even possible to pick up several icons on the homescreen and then move them to a different screen with your other fingers. Android is a nightmare by comparison.

macintux2y ago

One configuration I always immediately make is enabling three-finger dragging, along with tap-to-click. Significantly reduces the friction (both literal and figurative).

vmirnv2y ago

I've found that many Mac users aren't aware of the three-finger drag and select feature, and it seems Apple has somewhat hidden this setting for some reason: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/102341

With tap-to-click, my touchpad is completely silent.

1 more reply

lhamil642y ago

I don't have a MacBook but I looked up a video and this seems interesting. But how does it solve the problem of hitting the edge of the trackpad? If anything, it seems like it makes the problem worse because now you have three fingers on the trackpad so you will hit the edge quicker.

2 more replies

prewett2y ago

I find it easier to rest my second finger and drag with the third finger as I don't have to twist my hand that way.

FergusArgyll2y ago

Someone I know who's been using apple forever does the same and it always confuses me. Now I know why!

al_borland2y ago

This is also a holdover from how older trackpads with physical buttons worked. The buttons were at the bottom, so click with the thumb and move with the finger(s).

This is how I first used a trackpad 20+ years ago and I never felt the need to change. I tried some of the newer ways to click and drag and they all seemed worse. Tap to click is the first thing I disable on any laptop, that’s what my thumb is for.

TonyTrappOP2y ago

Thanks for the hint, I will give that a try.

TN1ck2y ago

Try accessibility settings and then 3 finger drag (switching spaces will become 4 fingers). It works really great and makes working in design tools feasible.

mewpmewp22y ago

Doesn't putting 3 fingers on a track pad already feel so damn awkward? I have to position my wrist so oddly to do something like that.

eyelidlessness2y ago

Are you positioning your wrist differently for three fingers than for one to place your fingers at a particular angle on the trackpad? Or just to reach further into the trackpad to make room for the other fingers? If it’s the former, you don’t need to do that, it will work at whatever angle feels comfortable to you.

1 more reply

Vegenoid2y ago

Personally, I find 3-finger drag to be a dream. I have spent many hours happily using a MacBook this way, and can’t imagine how I’d want it to change.

1 more reply

jxdxbx2y ago

I love drag-and-dropping to arbitrary locations in the Finder using spring-loaded folders. I think it is a bit tricky…if you don’t know the trick.

int_19h2y ago

On laptops with physical left/right buttons, it's as easy and straightforward as it is with the mouse. Thinkpads would be one prominent example.

data-ottawa2y ago

I turn on the accessibility setting for drag lock as the first thing I do on any new macOS install, that helps a lot

piva002y ago

I always turn on 3-finger drag in any Mac I use, not once someone complained I enabled that option for them. I don't understand why it isn't the default...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

nerdjon2y ago

Since you mention the touchpad being too small, are you trying to drag and drop with one finger or multiple?

But personally I treat my thumb just resting no the track pad as my click finger and move/gesture with my other fingers.

pico3032y ago

This is 100% the way to do it.

nerdjon2y ago

fernmyth2y ago

It would be a bit uncomfortable to do for long periods, since my thumb has to hold down with clicking force.

Sakos2y ago

macintux2y ago

One configuration I always immediately make is enabling three-finger dragging, along with tap-to-click. Significantly reduces the friction (both literal and figurative).

vmirnv2y ago

I've found that many Mac users aren't aware of the three-finger drag and select feature, and it seems Apple has somewhat hidden this setting for some reason: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/102341

With tap-to-click, my touchpad is completely silent.

1 more reply

lhamil642y ago

2 more replies

prewett2y ago

I find it easier to rest my second finger and drag with the third finger as I don't have to twist my hand that way.

FergusArgyll2y ago

Someone I know who's been using apple forever does the same and it always confuses me. Now I know why!

al_borland2y ago

This is also a holdover from how older trackpads with physical buttons worked. The buttons were at the bottom, so click with the thumb and move with the finger(s).

TonyTrappOP2y ago

Thanks for the hint, I will give that a try.

TN1ck2y ago

Try accessibility settings and then 3 finger drag (switching spaces will become 4 fingers). It works really great and makes working in design tools feasible.

mewpmewp22y ago

Doesn't putting 3 fingers on a track pad already feel so damn awkward? I have to position my wrist so oddly to do something like that.

eyelidlessness2y ago

1 more reply

Vegenoid2y ago

Personally, I find 3-finger drag to be a dream. I have spent many hours happily using a MacBook this way, and can’t imagine how I’d want it to change.

1 more reply

jxdxbx2y ago

I love drag-and-dropping to arbitrary locations in the Finder using spring-loaded folders. I think it is a bit tricky…if you don’t know the trick.

int_19h2y ago

On laptops with physical left/right buttons, it's as easy and straightforward as it is with the mouse. Thinkpads would be one prominent example.

data-ottawa2y ago

I turn on the accessibility setting for drag lock as the first thing I do on any new macOS install, that helps a lot

piva002y ago

I always turn on 3-finger drag in any Mac I use, not once someone complained I enabled that option for them. I don't understand why it isn't the default...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse