Mac Curious?

This post is the first in a series of Mac Basics.
Seasoned Macintosh users can feel free to skim past these, or pitch in your own thoughts in the comments!

Many of my clients who are accustomed to using Microsoft Windows will often ask me why the Mac does not have a right click option. Thankfully, the Mac has had this ever-useful option for many years.

If you are using one of the newer Mac desktops (iMac, Mac Pro, etc.) - you might already have a multi-button mouse and not realize it. The newest “Mighty Mouse” that ships with Apple desktops is touch sensitive - if you click the left side of the mouse, it detects it, and the same is true of the right side of the mouse. If you have an older Apple mouse, or an Apple laptop, here are your options:

• Hold down the ‘control’ key while you click the mouse button. This gives you full right-click functionality
• Plug in any multi-button USB mouse designed for Mac or Windows into your Mac laptop or desktop, and you’ll be up and running instantly. No drivers or software installs, and right-click is ready to go.
• Recent Apple Notebook (MacBook, MacBook Pro) Users: Put your first two fingers on the trackpad surface, and click. This will also give you a right click.

While we are at it, here’s another tip for recent Apple notebook users: Scroll horizontally or vertically by placing two fingers on the trackpad and moving the fingers horizontally or vertically. The Mac detects that you are using more than one finger and immediately goes into scroll mode. This is perfect for web pages or long documents. Say goodbye to the scroll arrows or mouse wheel!