"Tripple tap and drag" to select multiple words

Question

Level 1

4 points

"Tripple tap and drag" to select multiple words

In the latest release, it is said:

“The trackpad has no button: It is the button. With a smooth glass surface, this spacious trackpad brings even more Multi-Touch gestures and functionality to the 15-inch MacBook Pro.”

I hardly ever used the trackpad button because that's how it always was. In the PowerBook G3 and in the MacBooks without the multi-touch feature, you would be able to select multiple words with a triple tap and drag "gesture" on the trackpad.

... but with the Multi-Touch Trackpad on the MacBook Pro of the early 2008 edition, this feature has been eliminated and the button HAS to be used.

So, how does the NEW Multi-touch track pad on the new release of the MacBook Pro -without the button- achieve this? and can it be retrofitted to the Early 2008 release of the Mac Book Pro?

BTW, I had posted the following question in the MacBook Pro (Original) forum. There was no one who could respond to this question or to even comment on the matter...

=== Start Quote ===

It seems very mysterious that the "Tripple click and drag" to select multiple adjacent words no longer works for me on my multi-touch trackpad MacBook Pro with MacOS 10.5.5 installed.

On the trackpad the click translates to "tap". I want to be able to select WHOLE words with the tripple-tap and then drag (on the third tap) to select adjacent whole words, not part of the word.

I checked this out for the PowerBook G4 with MacOS 10.4.11 and it works perfectly.

So what's gone wrong with the Multi-touch trackpad? Or, what new click sequence is it that I need to adapt to now? I am just wondering why should there be a reduction in features when upgrading to the latest...

I have not heard any one else talk about it or is just me?

Thanks for your help...

FiL

===End Quote===

I hope there will be someone brave enough to respond to this post now that the NEW MacBook Pro -without the trackpad button- has been released.

FiL

MacBook Pro 15.4in, 2.4Ghz, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Oct 14, 2008 8:24 PM

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Answer 1

Will K.

Level 1

0 points

Oct 18, 2008 5:18 AM in response to FiL_m

I'm not sure I entirely parse your complaint here, but the behavior seems fine to me on the new no-button trackpad. To clarify:

Double-Click: highlight a word
Double-Click-Hold-And-Drag: highlight word-by-word, instead of letter-by-letter
Triple-Click: highlight a paragraph
Triple-Click-Hold-And-Drag: highlight paragraph-by-paragraph

This seems consistent with my experience on other Mac models.

(This all having been said, I still have some serious complaints about the reliability of clicking in the current late-2008 trackpad drivers, they are not close to reliable enough for professional use yet)

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Answer 2

aimbdd

Level 1

10 points

Oct 18, 2008 8:20 PM in response to FiL_m

idk about ur new question but as for your original quote i can reply. I was successful using the feature with both the current version of osx and also the 10.4 version. I think it is the computer its self that got rid of the function. Because i was able to use it successfully with both versions on my PowerBook G4.Maybe its just your laptop? or just the specific model you are using?

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Answer 3

FiL_m Author

Level 1

4 points

Oct 19, 2008 4:32 AM in response to FiL_m

"aimbdd" - Thanks very much for your feedback.... That feature you have verified simply disappears with the "new" Multi-touch Trackpad which was first introduced with the early-2008 MacBook Pro, and, which was also carried over from the iPhone...

The alternative is that you employ the "Mouse Button" or, in this case, the "Track Pad Button" to restore the feature...

"Will K." - So, the late-2008 MacBook Pro DOES have a button, which you need to "click".

When you say "Hold" you mean that you need to hold down that "button" ...

Now, if I understand it correctly, the top surface of the button IS the track pad. That's rather odd!!!

What happens if you release the button? Or, do you HAVE to hold the button down some how while you take the cursor to the end of your selection? If so, what would you hold it down with if the top surface of the button is the touch sensitive track pad????

In my opinion, the track pad BUTTON is redundant when you select the various tapping options for the track pad from the preferences, which was also possible on the Powerbook G4 ....

So, with the new MacBook Pro, which way are we going, forward or backward?

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Answer 4

Will K.

Level 1

0 points

Oct 19, 2008 7:00 AM in response to FiL_m

Yes, the newest Macbooks (and Pros) have a physical button, it's just the same component as the trackpad itself. It's a little tricky to explain, but if you get a chance to play with one, it'll be clear. It basically functions the same as the old trackpads. You can hold the whole "button" down while dragging, etc.

There are some subtle usability differences. Ostensibly, it's a step forward, because it pushes some of the trackpad smarts up into software, instead of limiting them in hardware (for example, certain parts of the "button" can be assigned to a right-click, without having two physical buttons). For other people, though, it'll be frustrating, I'm sure. It'll all depend on how good a job they do with the drivers, and so far I'm a bit disappointed with the reliability of the new trackpad. That's not to say it doesn't have potential, but it's still in it's infancy in terms of software support.

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Answer 5

Nov 20, 2008 9:06 AM in response to Will K.

Will K. wrote:
I'm not sure I entirely parse your complaint here, but the behavior seems fine to me on the new no-button trackpad. To clarify:

Double-Click: highlight a word
Double-Click-Hold-And-Drag: highlight word-by-word, instead of letter-by-letter
Triple-Click: highlight a paragraph
Triple-Click-Hold-And-Drag: highlight paragraph-by-paragraph

What changed for me is this: coming from a MacBook and now using an early 2008 MacBook Pro, I can no longer triple-tap to select paragraphs. Triple-click yes, but coming from from the MacBook where I could tap instead, this kind of annoys me big-time. If I turn off the "Dragging" feature then the triple-tap works on the Pro.

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