look up three finger tap doesn't work

I upgraded to 10.8.1 last week and just noticed my three finger lookup had stopped working. I shut down then restarted my retina mbp and found that a three finger tap would highlight the word briefly, but wouldn't result in a definition balloon. I continued to try several times, and the balloon began appearing briefly then disappearing, like ferveh mentioned earlier in this thread. Since things seemed to be improving, I continued trying and after 8 or so taps it's now working again reliably. Interesting. It seemed to be adapting to my tap style.

I'm facing exactly the same probelm.

I dont know if this is a stupid question but are u tapping it or actually clicking down?

you should only tap it with the 3 fingers once over the word and not actually press the trackpad down.
I took me a good 15 mins to realise that was the problem for me lol.

I dont know if this is a stupid question but are u tapping it or actually clicking down?

you should only tap it with the 3 fingers once over the word and not actually press the trackpad down.
I took me a good 15 mins to realise that was the problem for me lol.

Hooray!! Thanks Btopliss. 🙂 I thought I knew how to work this function but just realised it was the guy at the store that demo'd it for me. So for the last hour I've been trying to figure out why my 3 finger "click" was no longer working but in fact I'd never actually used it and obviously didnt know how to use it correctly. Doh!

The instructions for this function, under Trackpad, should state in brackets "tap but don't click", just for us newbies. 😀

Thanks again!

Wow. Holding my palm on the trackpad for 5 seconds actually worked for me! Three-finger tapping wasn't working, now it does. I'm a little amazed.

I have the same exact issue, except it repeats.

1) I use a Mid-2011 MacBook Air

2) I also use a Magic Mouse

3) I am running OS X 10.8.4

My three-finger tap define stopped working recently (I do not remember exactly when).

After I restart my computer, the three-finger tap define starts working again, but after some time, it stops working. Completely.

Does anyone know how to fix this, and does this happen because I use a Magic Mouse?

Unfortunately, It occur to me, not working this three-finger function to lookup word when I tap the three fingers.

even after restart.

Of caurse, NOT CLICK, I can tap.

It's working when I get the first. but it has been start not working after some moment.

For reference, It's working when I press the key "Ctrl-Command-D".

What's the problem ??

My device is..

- MBP Retina, Mid 2012

- OS X 10.8.4(12E55)

I find that it depends on the program whether the three finger tap will work or not. Even different websites can cause issues for me e.g. it works on this page using Chrome but when I switch tabs to another site, it won't register and I am forced to highlight the text and right click to "Look Up".

I realized that there is a special circumstance when the three-tap to define feature is not working!

Try the following:

1) Make sure your Mac's hardware allows the Apple multi-touch gestures.

2) Turn your volume on and check if there are any background applications running that do something when you type (such as an app that produces a sound when you type on the keyboard). The apps may be running in the background without you knowing or seeing them, so try using Activity Monitor to detect them. If you can not find any app, restart your computer with the "Reopen windows when logging back in" deselected.

3) Now go to System Preferences and the Accessibility tab. Deselect "Enable access for assistive devices". Restart your Mac again with the "Reopen windows when logging back in" deselected.

4) When you will restart your Mac, do not open any application and make sure they are all closed! Go to Safari, iWork, or TextEdit and check if the three-tap to define feature works there.

Is the problem now fixed? If not, you might have to get a new copy of the latest version of OS X by completely deleting the computer and reinstalling the system 😟. Here's how to do it: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11273

This will take time and you may want to check twice before you proceed.

I don't know if this will help... it seems like such a simple thing, but many people don't realize it. In order for the Dictionary Lookup to function, your trackpad cursor must be changed to a text cursor. If it is any other form, including the "hand", then it won't work.

I'm not sure if it is that simple. When I hover over a hyperlink, the cursor turns to a hand and a three finger tap will indeed try to lookup the text, or at least some of it, by highlighting it yellow and producing the standard popup GUI. This comment does not in anyway help solve the issue, I would only like to politely rule out that erroneous comment as a possible clarification/solution to the problem. If you can not replicate this claim, try highlighting the link, hover over it, see the hand and triple tap.