How do I drag and drop with the Force trackpad?

Downloading new applications still prompts me to drag the file icon to the Applications folder after install, but there doesn't appear to be any way to drag items with the Force trackpad and I don't see anything in the trackpad settings that address this.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.4

Posted on Jul 31, 2021 10:14 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 1, 2021 10:53 AM

DungeonMama wrote:

Downloading new applications still prompts me to drag the file icon to the Applications folder after install, but there doesn't appear to be any way to drag items with the Force trackpad and I don't see anything in the trackpad settings that address this.



How to use the Force Touch trackpad - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204352


Use Multi-Touch gestures on your Mac - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204895


Change how your trackpad works with Mac - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-the-way-your-trackpad-works-mchlp1226/mac


Turn on "three finger drag" for your Force Touch trackpad - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204609



Apple Support Video: How Apple's Force Touch Trackpad Works - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ED327JEk7I


2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 1, 2021 10:53 AM in response to DungeonMama

DungeonMama wrote:

Downloading new applications still prompts me to drag the file icon to the Applications folder after install, but there doesn't appear to be any way to drag items with the Force trackpad and I don't see anything in the trackpad settings that address this.



How to use the Force Touch trackpad - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204352


Use Multi-Touch gestures on your Mac - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204895


Change how your trackpad works with Mac - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-the-way-your-trackpad-works-mchlp1226/mac


Turn on "three finger drag" for your Force Touch trackpad - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204609



Apple Support Video: How Apple's Force Touch Trackpad Works - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ED327JEk7I


Aug 1, 2021 10:35 AM in response to DungeonMama

You have to learn how to do it properly. The timing and force of the click to select the item is very hard to get right. It drives me so crazy, that I just disable the Haptic feature of the Trackpad. In the Trackpad System Settings click on the first tab (usually the default) and uncheck the bottom item which also automatically unchecks the first item as well. This restores macOS drag & drop like it was on older model laptops.


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How do I drag and drop with the Force trackpad?

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