Kevin Callahan

Q: How to drag and drop with Magic Trackpad 2?

I just got my new Magic Trackpad 2.  I plugged it into my keyboard and turned it on.  Worked right away (charging).  I changed a few settings in the System Preferences.  Everything is working great - fast, smooth.  I'm running El Capitan on an iMac Retina 27.  The only thing I haven't been able to do is figure out how to SELECT and DRAG an object.  When I do any sort of gesture I typical did to drag an object with my older trackpad, the new trackpad simply invoke ForceTouch and opens the file in QuickLook.   How do you select to drag a file?  I have my old trackpad still paired via bluetooth and it is working side-by-side with the new trackpad 2.

 

Thanks,

K

iMac with Retina 5K display, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Oct 16, 2015 10:23 AM

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Q: How to drag and drop with Magic Trackpad 2?

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  • by Oxfordisciple,

    Oxfordisciple Oxfordisciple Dec 4, 2015 4:08 AM in response to Kevin Callahan
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 4, 2015 4:08 AM in response to Kevin Callahan

    Hi I just got my new Mac with the Magic thingie. After a momentary confusion - trying to drag and drop some installation files into the applications folder - I just clicked the file and held, added second finger on the pad after I clicked and held with the first, and dragged. Easy. Hope it works for you.

  • by gooober,

    gooober gooober Dec 6, 2015 11:25 AM in response to Kevin Callahan
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Dec 6, 2015 11:25 AM in response to Kevin Callahan

    I can get drag & drop to work while Force Touch is enabled in the Magic Trackpad 2, but it only works one out of numerous times.

     

    I did try to be very gentle with the clicking once to select, then clicking lightly (as to not invoke Force Touch) to click and drag the object, but it does not always want to go into drag & drop mode.

  • by gooober,

    gooober gooober Dec 6, 2015 11:27 AM in response to Kevin Callahan
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Dec 6, 2015 11:27 AM in response to Kevin Callahan

    My Magic Trackpad 2 has always been connected wirelessly and I still have the issue. It seems to come and go....For example if you try to complete tasks which involve various amounts of dragging & dropping, it will eventually fail to go into drag & drop mode.

  • by gooober,

    gooober gooober Dec 6, 2015 11:36 AM in response to Kevin Callahan
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Dec 6, 2015 11:36 AM in response to Kevin Callahan

    I think I have figured it out!

     

    I am inclined to mostly keep a finger on my Magic Trackpad 2 all the time when reading or doing tasks....moving the pointer around and such.

     

    I found that if I tap an item in finder to 'select' it, then release my finger from the Magic Trackpad 2, and then click on it again (softly so as to not go into Force Touch), then it can be dragged.

     

    Just don't keep your fingers resting on the Magic Trackpad 2 all the time and it will detect your intentions more precisely. At least this seems to work for me!

     

    Mark

  • by markmelch,

    markmelch markmelch Dec 13, 2015 5:13 PM in response to Kevin Callahan
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Dec 13, 2015 5:13 PM in response to Kevin Callahan

    Select and then a 3 finger drag works for me on my Macbook...

  • by L2013,

    L2013 L2013 Dec 14, 2015 11:19 PM in response to Kevin Callahan
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 14, 2015 11:19 PM in response to Kevin Callahan

    I had the same problem. I could not drag Skype dmg into the Applications folder on a new Macbook Pro running OSX El Capitan. Sleep and restart didn't work for me. On another forum I found a suggestion to turn on 'three finger drag' via:

    System Preferences - Accessibility - Mouse and Trackpad - Trackpad Options - Enable dragging - choose "3-finger drag" in the drop down. It's not a great solution but at least I managed to drag Skype into the folder. I've been using Macs since the 1980s and it's bizarre to suddenly lose something so fundamental.

  • by Tim Hill1,

    Tim Hill1 Tim Hill1 Dec 16, 2015 12:38 PM in response to L2013
    Level 1 (49 points)
    Dec 16, 2015 12:38 PM in response to L2013

    (to L2013...)

     

    Did you try connecting your trackpad to your Mac using the Lightning cable (then disconnecting it)? That has always worked for me each time my trackpad loses its mind.

     

    --Tim

  • by poil66,

    poil66 poil66 Dec 16, 2015 12:41 PM in response to Kevin Callahan
    Level 1 (16 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 16, 2015 12:41 PM in response to Kevin Callahan

    When you first got the trackpad did you plug it in to computer usb to sync, or did you sync through bluetooth settings. When I synced through bluetooth settings, I had this problem, when i did the auto-sync through plugging it into the computer usb, it worked just fine. No idea why it makes a difference but I would try that. And might have to delete or forget the device from bluetooth setting to get it to reset.

  • by FezVrasta,

    FezVrasta FezVrasta Dec 27, 2015 5:12 AM in response to cheeseb
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 27, 2015 5:12 AM in response to cheeseb

    This helped me! I had set it to "subtle" and it was nearly impossible to avoid to enable the "force click" by accident.

    Now with "firm" it's much easier!!

  • by iahsa,

    iahsa iahsa Dec 27, 2015 12:52 PM in response to Kevin Callahan
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 27, 2015 12:52 PM in response to Kevin Callahan

    I have found that, when in 3 Column Finder, if ones selects the desired file and then 2 finger (left constant and right to drag) one can move the item to the desired location. The trick is selceting the file from the last column where it the single image of the selcted file. It will then go where ever you want doing the tradition Drag and Drop move. Within a website just force click hold and drag. If a link is associted with the item on the website clicked, it will open, but as long as it's not  let go, it can be moved/dragged anywhere.

  • by scatts,

    scatts scatts Jan 1, 2016 3:16 AM in response to Tim Hill1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 1, 2016 3:16 AM in response to Tim Hill1

    Thanks to arw54 !

     

    Never thought to look in "accessibility" but that is certainly the way to keep all the new features but also have easy dragging.

     

    Cheers!

     

    (for some reason I'm replying to Tim Hill1 when I meant to reply to arw54)

  • by applefixthisshit,

    applefixthisshit applefixthisshit Jan 5, 2016 11:31 AM in response to Kevin Callahan
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 5, 2016 11:31 AM in response to Kevin Callahan

    I'm having this same issue. It's intermittent, can be fixed by plugging the trackpad back in, on/off, etc. Additionally, it seems to only be an issue in list view. I've never experienced an issue when switching to icon view. The whole icon vs text thing does nothing for me. Sometimes it's working like a champ; others it's forgotten how to drag and drop entirely.

     

    Bug report. Save me Apple. You're my only hope.

  • by nysus,

    nysus nysus Jan 5, 2016 8:38 PM in response to Kevin Callahan
    Level 1 (9 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 5, 2016 8:38 PM in response to Kevin Callahan

    Like me, I think most people are using the trackpad wrong. Sometimes dragging and dropping a file worked for me, sometimes it didn't. After playing with it a bit, I discovered the secret to get it to work every time:

     

    1) Move the cursor over the file. It doesn't matter where. Can be over the icon or over the name of the file.

     

    Now, here's the trick:

    2) Do NOT let your finger leave the trackpad. With the old trackpad, I used pick my finger up and then tap on the file. Do NOT do this.

     

    INSTEAD

     

    3) Push down lightly on the trackpad until you get the first click. Do not push so hard you get the "force" click.

     

    4) Drag and drop to your heart's content.

     

    It takes a little practice (maybe 30 seconds to a minute) but I think you'll find it's better and faster than the old method of dragging and dropping a file.

  • by Mike8906,

    Mike8906 Mike8906 Feb 2, 2016 2:23 PM in response to Kevin Callahan
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 2, 2016 2:23 PM in response to Kevin Callahan

    So, I've bought a new Magic Trackpad 2 as well and just got it.  I've read through all of the other posts here and have some of the same issues.  I have one computer (Yosemite) where it doesn't do much other than track and click.  I've my laptop (macbook pro with El Cap) and it behaves the same way.  Using bluetooth or connected pretty much behave the same.

     

    I had to look up some of the preferences settings and found that I don't see any "force touch" settings.  Further, I found this

     

    1. Launch System Preferences.
    2. Click on Trackpad.
    3. Uncheck Force Click and haptic feedback to disable.

    Went to look specifically for this (hadn't noticed it before, though I'd been in the settings before).  I don't have them, but when I try to download El Cap from the app store, it says I already have it.  Could it be that because I've been using a beta (2nd or 3rd developer beta, can't remember now), something just isn't right? 

     

    Just curious.  I'm downloading a fresh copy of El Cap and will install it again.

     

    Seems that for the Yosemite laptop, I'm out of luck.  It's my work laptop and haven't been allowed to upgrade to El Cap yet. 

     

    Anyway, thanks everyone for letting me know it wasn't just me thinking things were crazy.

     

    ~Mike

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