How to right-click on a MacBook

Right-clicking is something most computer users do several times a day. From calling up contextual menus to opening links in a new tab, it's an invaluable tool that can streamline your workflow. Utilizing this feature on a MacBook can be accomplished in a few different ways. But regardless of whether you're using a trackpad, Magic Mouse or third-party MacBook peripherals , it's not always obvious how to perform the action — which Apple calls "secondary click."

In early iterations of macOS, right-clicking was something that had to be enabled in settings before you could take advantage of its many uses. However, for many years the secondary click has been enabled by default, so if you know what gestures to use, you can right-click on a MacBook right out of the box. You can do this on the built-in trackpad and also on the Magic Mouse. With the rumored next generation of Magic Mouse on the horizon, now is a great time to revisit this important function and how to use it on your MacBook.

Regardless of whether you're using a mouse or trackpad, you can trigger a right-click by holding down the Control key while clicking as you normally would. You can also two-finger-tap the trackpad or simply press the front-right corner on a Magic Mouse, even though you may not see an actual button there. But you can also modify the ways you can perform a right-click in your MacBook's settings. Setting options will vary depending on whether you're using a mouse or trackpad, but both options are quick and easy.

Under the Point & Click section, select the Secondary click pop-up menu, then select whether you want right-click to be triggered by a click on the left or right side of the mouse

Under the Point & Click section, select the Secondary click pop-up menu, then choose between the three options: Click or Tap with Two Fingers, Click in Bottom Right Corner or Click in Bottom Left Corner