How to Right Click on a Mac (incl. Keyboard Shortcut)

Right-Clicking on a Mac

Wondering how you can right-click without a right mouse button—or a mouse? Find out here ho to right click on a Mac with mouse (including Magic Mouse), trackpad, or right click keyboard shortcut alone.

First, a Butter Dish on Wheels

A butter dish on wheels—or, to be more precise, on one wheel: Dean Hovey built the prototype for Apple’s first mouse from a butter dish and a roll-on deodorant’s ball.

Neither was controversial, of course. The big question was what to put on the dish: the mouse Steve Jobs had seen at Xerox had three buttons; Jobs wanted simplicity—and got it with one button.

That is why you today have either one or no button at all to right-click. Let’s find out how you still can (to, say, open a logo so you can resize it for use in your Gmail signature)!

How to Right Click on a Mac Laptop Using the Trackpad

Time needed: 1 minute

To “click” the right mouse button (yes, even if you have neither a mouse nor buttons) in macOS using a trackpad:

  1. Enable the 2-finger-tap gesture. (See below.)

  2. Position the mouse cursor where you want to right click.

  3. Tap with two fingers on the trackpad.

Right-Clicking on a Mac Using a Mouse (including Magic Mouse)

As an alternative, with either a trackpad or a mouse that has only one button:

  • Hold down the Control key while you tap with one finger or click the sole (or left) mouse button.

As an alternative with Apple Magic Mouse, Apple Mouse or just about any other two- or more-button mouse:

  • Click (or tap with Magic Mouse) on the mouse’s right side.

How to Right Click with a Mac Keyboard Shortcut

To produce a right click with a Mac keyboard shortcut alone:

  1. Do enable Alternative Pointer Actions; see below.
  2. Position the mouse cursor where you want to right-click.
  3. Press F12.

Set up Right-Clicking with a Keyboard Shortcut

To set up a keyboard shortcut (or key combination) to produce a right click on a Mac:

  1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences).
  2. Now open the Accessibility category.
  3. Go to the Pointer Control section.
  4. Check Enable Alternative Pointer Actions under Alternative Control Methods.
    macOS Monterey: In macOS Monterey 12 and earlier, open the Alternative Control Methods tab before.
    Default Mac right click keyboard shortcut: By default, the F12 key right-clicks (and the F11 key produces a normal click).
    Your own: Click Options… to change which key to press for right-clicking (and left-clicking).
  5. Optionally, check Enable Mouse Keys as well.
    What it does: This lets you move the mouse cursor using the keyboard alone and without a mouse or trackpad.
    Important: You cannot type text using the keys used for Mouse Keys while it is enabled. Click Options… to enable a shortcut for switching between Mouse Keys and normal keyboard function.
    How to move the mouse cursor with the keyboard: The keys to move the mouse are:
    7: ↖︎ 8: ↑ 9: ↗︎
    u: ←    o: →
    j: ↙︎ k: ↓ l: ↘︎

How to Right Click on a Mac (incl. Keyboard Shortcut): FAQ

How can I make sure two finger tapping works for a right click using a trackpad?

Right-clicking Mouse. Heinz Tschabitscher
This mouse is clicking right, presumably on an imaginary Mac.

To set up a trackpad (Magic Trackpad or the trackpad on a laptop) so tapping or clicking with two fingers will work like right-clicking:

  1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences) on your Mac.
  2. Select Trackpad.
    Finding: You can also click Search in the System Preferences window and type “Trackpad” to find the Trackpad settings.
  3. Go to the Point & Click tab.
  4. Select Click or tap with two fingers for Secondary click.
    macOS Monterey: In macOS Monterey and earlier, do check Secondary click first.
    Enable right clicking with two fingers on a Mac in System Settings

Can I turn off Control-clicking on a Mac?

No, there is no universal way to disable Control-clicking for a right click on a Mac.

Using a tool like Karabiner-Elements and its Ctrl Click modification, you can remap Control-left click, however.

To disable Control right-clicking, map Control plus a left click to a mere left click, for example.

Can I choose between right and left clicking for a right click?

Yes, you can configure mouse buttons.

To set up your mouse so either a using the right or the left button produces a right (secondary) click:

  1. Select the Apple button () in the menu.
  2. Now choose System Preferences… from the menu.
  3. Open the Mouse category.
  4. Go to the Point & Click tab.
  5. Now make sure Secondary click is checked.
  6. Click the downward-pointed caret () or the highlighted text.
  7. Select Click on the right side for the right or Click on the left side for the left side.
  8. Close the System Preferences window.

(How to right click on a Mac tested with macOS Sonoma 14.3, Ventura 13.3, Monterey 12.3, Big Sur 11.0, and Catalina 10.15; updated March 2024)

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