How+to+use+an+Apple+Trackpad

Hello there, is a simple to use guide on some very cool and simple tricks for using the trackpad on an Apple laptop. First off, there are no buttons on the trackpad, the entire pad is the button. If you want to do the equivalent of a right click on the trackpad, all you have to do is push the bottom right corner of the trackpad once. It takes some practice, but once you get the hang of it, its very easy quick to use.

1 Finger: In order to move the arrpw/cursor around the screen use only one finger and move/drag across the trackpad in the direction you want. 2 Fingers: This is where the trackpad gets cool and very useful. When you hold two fingers together and move across a document/program/webpage, this acts as the scroll up or scroll down feature. So all you have to do is place your index and middle finger together over the program/document/webpage and move your fingers up or down and the it will scroll automatically for you. This is very useful instead of moving the mouse to the side of the screen and clicking and holding down the bar to scroll up and down.

3 Fingers: If you use three fingers (index, middle, and ring) on certain programs it will act as a back/forward function. For example, if you're using Iphoto, you click on a photo to enlarge it, and then you can use the three "swipe" motion to scroll through the pictures. If you swipe the fingers to the right, it acts as a forward, and if you swipe to the left it acts a backwards. This can also be used on your internet browser instead of using the back and forward arrow buttons on the tool bar.

4 Fingers: If you 4 fingers (index, middle, ring and pinkie) and use a "swipe" motion upwards on the trackpad, all running programs will be temporarily pushed aside so that you able to see and access your desktop. Very useful instead of having to minimize all your running programs if you need to access the desktop. If you use the same finger swipe motion downwards on the trackpad it will automatically show all running programs in small windows that you can easily access by clicking on.



Pinch/Squeeze/Expand: If you are looking at images/video or other media online or on the laptop and you want to resize it, you can easily do this with the trackpad alone, no clicking buttons. If you want to expand the image, pinch your index and thumb together over the image and then slowly spread the two fingers apart until you have your desired image size. If you want to reduce/shrink the image, do the opposite, so start with your index and thumb apart over the image and slowly bring together until you have your desired size. This can also be used on websites when you want to increase or decrease font/text size instead of going through the tool bars and menus.



- Rafael Hinojosa-Caul