One of the first things I noticed when I switched from a Windows laptop to my new shiny MacBook was the trackpad. There are no buttons! I immediately thought that because there are no buttons, there would be fewer features. Big time bummer! I LIKE features!

After a little playing around, I quickly found out I was wrong and that the term “less is more” definitely applies here. In fact, there are so many features that I gave up my external mouse. This was huge for me! I never worked on my Windows computer without a mouse because using the Windows touchpad just wasn’t comfortable. This is not the case with my MacBook trackpad! I work for hours upon hours and I NEVER use a mouse.

If you too are ready to release the power of your trackpad, you can do so quickly and easily by following the instructions I have provided in this series of articles.

GETTING STARTED

To get started, the first thing you have to know is how to access the Trackpad Preferences pane. This is where you will find all of the settings related to your trackpad.

TO ACCESS THE TRACKPAD PREFERENCES PANE:

1. Open System Preferences ( > System Preferences)

2. Click the Trackpad Icon

3. The Trackpad Preferences pane will open. Here’s a peek at what my settings look like:

Now that you’ve discovered how to access the trackpad preferences pane, it’s time to release the power of your trackpad!

Click on any of the links listed below for a thorough review of each of the trackpad features and to determine the settings that work best for you.

TRACKPAD SETTINGS:

• Tracking Speed
• Double-Click Speed
• Scrolling Speed
• One Finger Tap to Click
• One Finger Dragging
• One Finger Drag Lock
• One Finger Secondary Click
• Two Fingers Scroll
• Two Fingers Rotate
• Two Fingers Pinch Open & Close
• Two Fingers Screen Zoom
• Two Fingers Secondary Tap
• Three Fingers Swipe/Three Fingers Dragging
• Four Fingers Swipe Up/Down for Expose
• Four Fingers Swipe Left/Right to Switch Applications