Instead of the traditional mechanical clicking mechanism found on older MacBook Pro and Air models, the new trackpad doesn't move at all. Press down on it, however, and you'll still hear and feel a click. This is due to the haptic feedback.
Instead of pressing down, the surface of the trackpad buzzes, similar to the force feedback you feel on a PlayStation or Xbox controller. A sensor built into the pad senses if you're pressing it, and moves a weight, which fools your fingertip into sensing that there is vertical movement.
How to Use Your Mac’s Mouse (Trackpad) A mouse typically has one button on the left and one on the right. To select an item on the screen, you must move the mouse to point at that item and then press and release (click) the left mouse button. If you know how to point and click, double-click, and point and drag the. May 13, 2013 - Five ways to right-click on a Mac trackpad. And using your thumb to right-click, you can simply use your two fingers to click the trackpad.
The sensor can detect pressure, so if you press a little harder, the trackpad will click a second time, and activate the Force Click function. In practice, it feels like two separate physical clicks. You can set the click strength in the trackpad control panel (Minimal, Medium, or Strong).
One nice feature is that the haptic click works on the whole trackpad surface. Older trackpads will have very little click on their top surface (near the hinge, closest to the spacebar), with most of the clicking action happening at the midpoint to the bottom of the trackpad. The Force Touch trackpad is now pressure-sensitive, so you can vary pressure for thicker lines, for instance, when signing your name on the trackpad, or vary fast-forward or zoom speeds in programs like QuickTime Player and the Maps program.
Think of the Force Click function as a second right-click, and you won't be far off. If you're surfing in Safari, the first click will select the text the cursor is parked on, then the deeper Force Click will detect the text, and either bring up a dictionary entry or a Wikipedia article for the word you're looking at. The same Force Click motion can detect addresses and summon Apple Maps, or it can bring up a thumbnail if you're looking at pictures in the Finder. So far, Force Click is limited to Apple-built apps, but I can see applications like CAD-engineering packages or video-editing programs benefiting from what is essentially a third mouse-button click. At first, I found myself activating Force Click by accident when all I wanted to do was click and drag, but I quickly got used to the sensation and varied the pressure I exerted.
You can turn off Force Click entirely if you can't get used to having a 'deeper' click, but once other programs start using it, not having it enabled means you may not be able to use some extra features.
What It Is: Apple’s Magic Trackpad is a 5-inch-square slab of touch-sensitive aluminum that brings multitouch controls to desktop Macs. Apple is pitching the $69 peripheral as a complement to the mouse, or, if you’re feeling adventurous, a replacement for it. Why It’s Good: For me, there was nothing adventurous about replacing my mouse with the Magic Trackpad: it instantly felt intuitive and easy to use.
I took to it straight away. Crucially, I’ve been using a MacBook Pro for more than a year. The MacBook Pro has a Glass Trackpad, which is just a smaller version of the Magic Trackpad.
The MacBook Pro is my home machine, but I use it a lot for work. In fact, I probably spend more time on the MacBook than the desktop Mac Pro I use at work. As a result, I’m accustomed to moving the cursor around the screen with my fingertips, and tapping the trackpad for mouse clicks. I’m completely programmed to use various gestures when browsing the web or working in documents. Gestures like two-finger scrolling and four-finger swiping are firmly embedded in my muscle memory. So I found the Magic Trackpad very easy to use.
I have no problem with pixel-level control. Even the smallest onscreen targets are easy to hit. I’ve never been much of a keyboard jockey, using keyboard shortcuts to control the screen. I’m much happier using a mouse or the MacBook trackpad. (I should add that I didn’t like Apple’s Magic Mouse much, at least initially.
It was too awkward to use the mouse to move the onscreen cursor and the mouse’s top surface for gesture controls or clicks. I hate to say it, but it was a walk and chew gum situation for me — it just didn’t come naturally. I’ve since got more used to it, but it wasn’t as easy and intuitive as the Magic Trackpad.) The Magic Trackpad is just as functional as a mouse with a scroll wheel, and adds gesture controls like pinch to zoom, and swiping three fingers to go back in a browser. (I’ve got to admit, I’ve never used any of the additional buttons on my multi-button mouse, which can be programmed in all kinds of wonderful ways). The Magic Trackpad seems to be easier on my hands than a mouse. I’ve suffered a little from RSI (repetitive stress injuries), and often get cramp from holding a mouse all day. I have to flex my hands and fingers to loosen them up.
I haven’t had that problem with the Magic Trackpad. I’m able to relax my hand and leave it in an open, natural position for most of the day. Most of the movements can be performed with a relaxed, open hand — gently sliding your fingers across the surface and performing quick mouse taps with your thumb. I can’t say confidently that the Magic Trackpad won’t give you RSI, but so far it is more relaxing than using a mouse.
What’s Bad: The only problem I had was with the “Tap To Click” button in the Preferences pane, which allows you to click or double-click by touching the trackpad surface instead of depressing it all the way down. I enabled “Tap To Click” but found that it would behave very erratically. Every accidental touch would be interpreted as a mouse click, and windows would drag across the screen when I was just trying to move the cursor; or a huge section of text would suddenly be selected. I tried for a day or two to be more careful, but I was making too many mistakes and so unselected it.
“Tap To Click” is off by default. Where To Get It: The Magic Trackpad is available for $69.