Point and click with the trackpad or mouse

Everything on a Mac starts with pointing at something and clicking it. This step is pure practice. Nothing you do here can break anything.

The pointer

The small black arrow on the screen is the pointer. It goes where your finger or hand goes.

• On a laptop, slide one finger across the trackpad, the smooth glass rectangle below the keyboard.
• With a mouse, slide the mouse across the desk.

Lift your finger and put it down again to keep moving. The pointer stays where it was. If you lose it, wiggle your finger fast from side to side. The pointer grows for a moment so you can find it.

Click

To click means to press once and let go.

• Trackpad: press down anywhere on the glass until it clicks, then let go. A light tap does nothing on most Macs unless you turn "Tap to click" on. See the tip below.
• Mouse: press the left side, or the single button, once.

Clicking selects things and presses buttons. It is the most common action on a computer.

Double-click

A double-click is two clicks, fast, without moving the pointer between them. It opens things: a file, a folder, an app icon on the Desktop. If it does not work, click faster. Both clicks must land within about half a second.

Right-click

A right-click opens a small menu of extra choices for the thing you are pointing at. Apple also calls it a secondary click or a Control-click. You can do it three ways:

• Hold down the Control key (bottom-left of the keyboard, marked "control") and click. This always works.
• Trackpad: click with two fingers at the same time.
• Mouse: press the right side of the mouse. On Apple's mouse this may be off until you turn it on. See "If something goes wrong".

Drag

To drag: press down on something, keep holding, move the pointer, then let go. On a trackpad, press with one finger and slide it. Dragging moves files and windows.

Scroll

To scroll is to move a page up or down. On a trackpad, slide two fingers up or down together, without pressing. On a mouse, roll the wheel, or slide one finger along the top of Apple's mouse.

Practice

1. Move the pointer to an empty part of the Desktop and right-click. A small menu appears.
2. Press Escape, the top-left key of the keyboard, marked "esc". The menu closes.
3. Double-click the icon of any folder on the Desktop, or skip this line if there is none. A window opens.
4. Scroll inside the window with two fingers, then close it by clicking the red circle at its top-left.