How to Right Click on a Mac

Using the right click on a Mac is quite different from that in Microsoft Windows computer operating system, and this tends to confuse many people for the first time. Once you get the hang of it you will certainly not forget this procedure, but as mentioned above, this is for first time users because the process can get slightly confusing.

People who see a Mac computer mouse for the first time will be perplexed to see only one button on the mouse, especially if they have used a mouse on Windows before. Right clicking and left clicking on Windows is very simple, so they may feel a little put off at first. After a while you will find that right clicking on a Mac is just as simple and elementary as well.

On the computer keyboard of your Mac you will find a key known as the Control key. You need to keep this key pressed down and then click the Mac mouse in order to learn to right click on the Mac's mouse. In fact, for a Mac this is not known as a right click, because there is no right mouse button for you to click on. This is simply known as a Control click. Even if you are wondering about the same in Windows OS, the process is exactly the same. All you have to do is carry out a Control click on the mouse.

What Happens When You Control Click

The actions that take place when you carry out this click on a Mac are similar to the options that take place when you right click on Windows. A bunch of options open up as a result, and you can then choose which action you wish to undertake. For example, when you Control click on the homescreen in your Mac, you will see the following options in front of you.

• Help
• New Folder
• View
• Clean Up
• Arrange
• View Options
• Change Desktop Background

These options are similar to the ones that pop out when you carry out a right click in Windows, and their functionality is the same. You can also carry out a Control click when you place the mouse pointer on a file or a folder, and here are the options that will show up in this situation.

• Help
• Open
• Move to Trash
• Get Info
• Label
• Duplicate
• Make Alias
• Put Away
• Add to Favorites
• Index Selection

You can even point the cursor at a disk that is inserted into the Mac or on the hard disk of the computer itself and some more options will present themselves to you. This will grant you the ability to carry out a variety of actions that will come in handy at many different times.

There is another option for you as well. You will need to use two of your fingers. Keep them apart at a distance of about 2 cms from each other, and then tap both fingers on the track-pad simultaneously. This will be the equivalent of a right click and will show you the options that are mentioned above. If you own an Apple Mighty Mouse then you will know that there are now 4 buttons available on your mouse. You can go to the Apple menu and then go to System Preferences and select any one of these buttons as the secondary mouse button. Pressing this secondary button at any time will be the equivalent of a right click on a Mac. This mouse was first introduced by Apple Computers in 2005.

These tricks should be enough to keep you going, and to enable you to carry out a right click on any Apple computer that you use. This is a very simple procedure, and you will never forget it as well.