Bart_M_J

Q: multi touch three finger click&move not working

Hi all,

 

I have MacBook Air late 2013 with El Capitan running.

 

Under Yosemite system I could move icons, folders, files, etc. in any programme by putting three fingers on the multi touch pad and swiping the fingers. After installing El Capitan this is no longer available and it's nowhere to be seen in multi touch options in system settings. The only way to move icons, folders, etc. now is to press & hold with one hand and then move the cursor with the other and it is no so much like in windows with the use of a button. Is there any way to reactivate this function under El Capitan? It was really convenient and I loved the fact that I didn't have to click anything.

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2013), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Feb 18, 2016 2:58 AM

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Q: multi touch three finger click&move not working

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  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Feb 18, 2016 3:14 AM in response to Bart_M_J
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    Feb 18, 2016 3:14 AM in response to Bart_M_J

    Enable "Tap to click" in the Trackpad settings. It will select the file/folder then you click and drag it where you want.

  • by Bart_M_J,

    Bart_M_J Bart_M_J Feb 18, 2016 3:21 AM in response to dialabrain
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    Feb 18, 2016 3:21 AM in response to dialabrain

    It is enabled. It's not so much the clicking which is the problem. The problem is clicking + dragging which could be done in the past through hovering the cursor over a folder and dragging it with 3 fingers on the multi touch pad. This doesn't work under El Capitan.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Feb 18, 2016 3:27 AM in response to Bart_M_J
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    Feb 18, 2016 3:27 AM in response to Bart_M_J

    Tap means literally tap. The file/folder should highlight. Then you click and drag the file/folder with one finger. Works on my Mid 2013 MacBook Air with OSX 10.11.3.

  • by Bart_M_J,

    Bart_M_J Bart_M_J Feb 18, 2016 3:28 AM in response to dialabrain
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    Feb 18, 2016 3:28 AM in response to dialabrain

    That is the point. In Yosemite you didn't have to click and you didn't do this with one finger but with three. The procedure was as follows:

     

    * hover over the icon

    * tap to highlight

    * put 3 fingers on the pad

    * drag with three fingers

     

    NO CLICKING....

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Feb 18, 2016 3:31 AM in response to Bart_M_J
    Level 5 (6,251 points)
    Mac App Store
    Feb 18, 2016 3:31 AM in response to Bart_M_J

    You asked how to do the same thing in El Capitan. How you move files/folders has changed.

    You said…

    The only way to move icons, folders, etc. now is to press & hold with one hand and then move the cursor with the other

    That is not true as I explained.

  • by Bart_M_J,

    Bart_M_J Bart_M_J Feb 18, 2016 3:38 AM in response to dialabrain
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    Feb 18, 2016 3:38 AM in response to dialabrain

    Look, thank you for your help and let's clear the misunderstanding. What I'm looking for is the answer to the following question, which I also asked in my post

    and by "this function" I mean using three fingers to move icons and nothing else [I know all the 'clicking' ways but I don't like them].

     

    "Is there any way to reactivate this function under El Capitan?"



  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Feb 18, 2016 3:41 AM in response to Bart_M_J
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    Mac App Store
    Feb 18, 2016 3:41 AM in response to Bart_M_J

    As I said, that function is gone. No there is no way to "reactivate" it. You could try BetterTouchTool which may have the former behavior available. There is a free trial.

  • by pinkstones,

    pinkstones pinkstones Feb 18, 2016 3:44 AM in response to Bart_M_J
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    Feb 18, 2016 3:44 AM in response to Bart_M_J

    Bart_M_J wrote:

     

    Look, thank you for your help and let's clear the misunderstanding. What I'm looking for is the answer to the following question, which I also asked in my post

    and by "this function" I mean using three fingers to move icons and nothing else [I know all the 'clicking' ways but I don't like them].

     

    "Is there any way to reactivate this function under El Capitan?"



     

    I just looked at the Trackpad preferences in System Preferences, and I don't see anything about what you're describing listed as one of the gestures that can be done on said trackpad.  I just tried it now myself, tapping to highlight something on my desktop, then dragging three fingers across my trackpad and nothing happened.  If that functionality existed in Yosemite (which I never heard of before), it doesn't exist now it seems.

  • by Bart_M_J,

    Bart_M_J Bart_M_J Feb 18, 2016 3:54 AM in response to pinkstones
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    Feb 18, 2016 3:54 AM in response to pinkstones

    Oh, yes. There was such functionality in Yosemite and the previous systems as well. Don't know why it's not here anymore.

     

     

    Can anyone else confirm that there was such function or have I been using something which was not there for the last 2,5 years?

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Feb 18, 2016 4:00 AM in response to Bart_M_J
    Level 5 (6,251 points)
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    Feb 18, 2016 4:00 AM in response to Bart_M_J

    Bart_M_J wrote:

     

    Oh, yes. There was such functionality in Yosemite and the previous systems as well. Don't know why it's not here anymore.

     

     

    Can anyone else confirm that there was such function or have I been using something which was not there for the last 2,5 years?

    I just checked Yosemite as well. There is no such function. The obvious explanation is you had a third party app such as BetterTouchTool or MagicPrefs installed.

  • by Bart_M_J,

    Bart_M_J Bart_M_J Feb 18, 2016 4:08 AM in response to dialabrain
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    Feb 18, 2016 4:08 AM in response to dialabrain

    No, I didn't have anything like that installed [I know what I install] and yes it was available in previous OS Xs. Maybe this depends on the date of Mac manufacturing?

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Feb 18, 2016 4:12 AM in response to Bart_M_J
    Level 5 (6,251 points)
    Mac App Store
    Feb 18, 2016 4:12 AM in response to Bart_M_J

    Obviously unless millions of Mac users explain there was no such function you will not be convinced. I have versions of OSX going back to OSX 10.7 and Macs going back to a Late 2006 iMac. Maybe yours was "special".

     

    Good luck though in your quest.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Feb 18, 2016 4:20 AM in response to Bart_M_J
    Level 5 (6,251 points)
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    Feb 18, 2016 4:20 AM in response to Bart_M_J
  • by Bart_M_J,

    Bart_M_J Bart_M_J Feb 18, 2016 4:59 AM in response to dialabrain
    Level 1 (5 points)
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    Feb 18, 2016 4:59 AM in response to dialabrain

    Here, found it myself. Maybe you will learn something about the OS X that you "know oh so well" too instead of pretending you know all and "if I don't know, it doesn't exist... and so confirm another million users". Next time you try to help someone, focus on helping rather than proving they're wrong while it's actually you who is wrong...

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vefxU1tojJk

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