Did you know that Apple's new Magic Keyboard for 2024 has a dedicated right-click button? Finally! But even if you don't want to buy an expensive new keyboard just for that button, there are still many ways to right-click on a Mac, including a keyboard shortcut for those who don't want to use the mouse. If you're among those confused by the lack of a dedicated right-click on Apple's trackpads or Magic Mouse, here's every way to right-click on a Mac.
If you buy Apple's Magic Keyboard (the wide one with a full numpad), you'll be able to right-click by pressing just one button. That's because there's a dedicated right-click button on this keyboard, located to the right of the Delete key. As tempting as the simplicity here is, it's hard to justify spending $199 just to get an extra right-click key, which means that most people will find it easier to use other methods to right-click while on a Mac.
macOS 15 Sequoia also supports a keyboard shortcut to right-click on your Mac. You can press control-return to right-click. This mostly works how you would expect, but it's not as good as right-clicking with the mouse. You'll notice that the right-click triggers perfectly well when you've selected a file in Finder or when you've selected an item in other apps. However, it won't work well when you move the mouse pointer to a link or if you've selected a bookmarks folder. For these tasks, you'll need to rely on other methods.
This is the simplest way to right-click on your Mac. Just click or tap the trackpad with two fingers (if you have Tap to click enabled) and the right-click context menu will pop up.
If you have a Magic Mouse, by default, you can click the right side of the top portion of the mouse to right-click. It's a bit confusing since the mouse appears to be all one button, but if you imagine the right side having its own button, you should have no problem getting this to work.
If you'd prefer to make the left side of your Magic Mouse your "right-click" trigger, go to System Settings > Mouse, then next to Secondary click, choose Click Left Side.
If you find it hard to press the trackpad with two fingers at the same time, you can instead hold down the Control key on your Mac's keyboard and click with the trackpad or a mouse. This was Apple's go-to method for right-clicking back in the day.
If you prefer, you can set up one of the trackpad's bottom corners as a dedicated right-click zone. You can enable this by going to System Settings > Trackpad and selecting the drop-down menu next to Secondary click. Select Click in the bottom-right corner or Click in the bottom-left corner. You can now click either of these corners of the trackpad to right-click on your Mac.
Many of us are used to using the two-finger scroll gesture on the Mac, and this right-click method is a natural extension of that. With two fingers on the trackpad, use your thumb to click the trackpad. It's a similar gesture to the two-finger click, but you might find using your thumb is more convenient in certain situations.
Of course, for a true right-click experience, you can use a mouse that has two or more buttons with your Mac. You won't need to make any changes or configure the mouse: in almost all cases, the right button on the mouse will immediately work as a right-click on your Mac.
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