How can I right click on a Mac using only the trackpad in a dual-boot environment?

Question

I am absolutely new to Mac OS and can't determine hot to issue a right click on my Mac. If I want a shortcut menu to appear I can ctrl + click to get the same effect or I can use an old mouse that has two buttons.

How would I right click if I don't have a mouse and I have only track pad and my laptop is dual boot with Windows or Linux?

I'm going to edit out the why does apple do this part which is very speculative and not something we look to host here. If Apple starts answering why anywhere, we can revisit this policy on [meta]. And as always, one question per question is the best way to ask things even if both are on-topic. — bmike, Oct 09 '12 at 13:43
How this approach for right clicking improves the user experience? — Pawan Sharma, Oct 09 '12 at 14:02

Maverik · Accepted Answer · 2012-10-09T13:47:42.083

9

If you have a MacBook Air you can "right-click" by placing two fingers on your trackpad and clicking with one of them. Of course this work when you are using OS X.

You can configure this option (if it isn't already configured) by going to Settings > Trackpad > Secondary click

If you are using Windows with Boot Camp instead, you should install the additional driver provided by Apple. They should allow you to right-click in the same way you do it on OS X.

edited Oct 09 '12 at 13:47

answered Oct 09 '12 at 13:27

Maverik

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This answers how to configure OS X to detect multi touch and issue a right click. The BootCamp drivers might be a good place to look for Windows drivers to do the same. – bmike Oct 09 '12 at 13:45
I edited the answer and removed the part related to the second question that was removed from the post. – Maverik Oct 09 '12 at 13:48
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Also - this answer dives deeper into the manner of declaring a region of the trackpad for an alternate action similar to Windows and other OS work. http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/48182/how-to-map-the-bottom-right-trackpad-corner-to-right-click-programmatically – bmike Oct 09 '12 at 13:50

score 3 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 24 '17 at 03:59

After installing Windows in an early 2008 MacBook Pro, I could not do a right click with the Trackpad. I did the following:

Downloaded Bootcamp 4.0.425
Extracted the files
Looked inside the folder Drivers > Apple > x64
Double-clicked on AppleTrackpadInstaller64.

That installed the correct Trackpad driver. I just finished setting up windows 10 on a early 2008 Macbook Pro. But first I downloaded and installed Bootcamp 6.x.x.

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 08 '13 at 15:26

With the new Boot Camp you'll need to enable this feature. By default right clicking is actually disabled. You'll find it under Control Panel ==> System and Security ==> Boot Camp ==> Track pad. I use the bottom right corner of the trackpad, but you'll find a good variety of options in there.

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Aug 13 '15 at 13:59

I have had this problem to. However I come with a solution for those who even need a single click secondary button.

Instructions

Click start
Search and Open BootCamp (when opening your computer will ask to give the application privileges , agree)
There is a tap that says "Trackpad" select it
Make any adjustments to he trackpad you may need such as single finger right click and dragging.
Click apply and your trackpad should be working fine

If this does not work reinstall the driver for the trackpad

How can I right click on a Mac using only the trackpad in a dual-boot environment?

4 Answers4