Three finger swipe no longer works on Mavericks

This is most definitely a bug and it hasn't stopped annoying me since the day Mavericks released.

Two/Three finger swipe-Left/swipe-Right works in

- All browsers screens

- Preview

- even in Preferences

But doesn't work in Finder.

And Finder is the most used when you have a zillion files scattered all around your mac.

I tried all possible things previously discussed on this thread, and nothing works.

This is 'core' OSX functionality! Its meant to 'just work'!

Apple, please fix this!

I think I figured it out, unless I am missing a 3 Finger Swipe functionality within Finder other than switching betwen apps in FULL SCREEN mode.

The solution was already in an earlier post describing that you need to

1) DESELECT Three Finger Drag under POINT AND CLICK tab and then

2) CHOOSE swipe left or right with 3 Fingers from the scroll down menu under Swipe between full-screen apps under MORE GESTURES tab.

When you select Three finger drag it automatically switches 3 finger swipe to 4 finger swipe. Deselecting the 3 finger drag will not revert the 4 finger back to 3 finger swipe.

Now you can switch between any FULL-Screen apps including dashboard (if enabled as Space) within the Finder.

Please let me know if I am missing any functionality previously performed with a 3 finger swipe in Finder.

That didn't do it for me. A restart temporarily fixed it, but now it's back to not working the finder but working everywehre else.

Three Finger Drag is OFF.

I want to use three finger swipe in finder windows to navigate back and forth (like going back and forward wthin a safari window) and I use four finger swipe for switching between spaces (this still works fine.. sometimes a bit jaggy, but I think my ol' hardwear is to blame for that more than mavericks)

Timbuktu wrote:

I think I figured it out, unless I am missing a 3 Finger Swipe functionality within Finder other than switching betwen apps in FULL SCREEN mode.

The solution was already in an earlier post describing that you need to

1) DESELECT Three Finger Drag under POINT AND CLICK tab and then

2) CHOOSE swipe left or right with 3 Fingers from the scroll down menu under Swipe between full-screen apps under MORE GESTURES tab.

When you select Three finger drag it automatically switches 3 finger swipe to 4 finger swipe. Deselecting the 3 finger drag will not revert the 4 finger back to 3 finger swipe.

Now you can switch between any FULL-Screen apps including dashboard (if enabled as Space) within the Finder.

Please let me know if I am missing any functionality previously performed with a 3 finger swipe in Finder.

Are you putting your application window(s) in full screen view (selecting upper right opposing arrows)? As long as I put one application in full screen view I am able to use 3 finger swipe to switch between Finder windows, keeping my previously described Trackpad selections. 4 finger swipe up and down still triggers spaces (up) and app expose (down). Going left with 3 fingers brings up Dashboard no matter if I have any apps in full screen mode if I select "Show Dashboard as Space" under MISSION CONTROL pref pane. Not sure why it doesn't stick with your system.

I think there might be a misunderstanding here. I don't want to swap between windows, I want to navigate within an existing one, regardess of if it's full screen or not. Think clicking on a google search result, realizing it's not what you wanted, and swiping back to the previous page to click on a different link. (edit: sure, you could do that by clicking the back button or hitting cmd [ too, but I do this with a three finger swipe. switching spaces/fullscreen apps is a four finger swipe for me)

Finder windows used to do that! If you click an hold on the "back" icon on a finder window, you get a dropdown similar to the previously visited sites in safari, and you used to be able to go back and forward within that list with a three finger swipe. And btw it's not the same as command clicking on the finder window's name.

Now it only works briefly after I restart, and within all other apps (browsers, prefs, preview..) but not in the finder.

Timbuktu wrote:

Are you putting your application window(s) in full screen view (selecting upper right opposing arrows)? As long as I put one application in full screen view I am able to use 3 finger swipe to switch between Finder windows, keeping my previously described Trackpad selections. 4 finger swipe up and down still triggers spaces (up) and app expose (down). Going left with 3 fingers brings up Dashboard no matter if I have any apps in full screen mode if I select "Show Dashboard as Space" under MISSION CONTROL pref pane. Not sure why it doesn't stick with your system.

Largly you are right. However, it turns out that the swipe with 4 fingers IN A FULL-SCREEN MODE is identical in performing to the swipe with 3 fingers no matter what mode (3 or 4 fingers) selected!!! 😮 What's going on? Has there to be some difference, otherwise the same action is under different labels!

Wait, are we still on switching between spaces and full screen apps?

that's not the problem. the problem is navigating within finder windows specificaly, be they full screen or not. Honestly, it simply cannot be my settings! It works in safari and the prefs and preview, just not in the finder. That has got to be a bug. How else do you explain it working temporarily after restart?

scrutinizer82 wrote:

Largly you are right. However, it turns out that the swipe with 4 fingers IN A FULL-SCREEN MODE is identical in performing to the swipe with 3 fingers no matter what mode (3 or 4 fingers) selected!!! 😮 What's going on? Has there to be some difference, otherwise the same action is under different labels!

OK, you want the fiunctionality of the top left forward and back buttons in a 3 finger swipe to navigate to previous Finder/Folder views. Sorry, there was a misunderstanding on my part, seems like this functionality went out the window while introducing more trackpad configurations and tabbed Finder windows. I have mostly used the buttons to navigate to previous Finder views.

ah, who has time to aim for buttons these days? 🙂 the swiping was easier... it's so much of a reflex that now I'm spending like 5 second staring at a window before I realize it's not lag- my swipe is not gonna work, ever.

Well that's the last time I'll ever install a first OSX release. In future I'll be waiting for the .1 or .2 bugfixes at least. Maversucks 😟

edit: ok, I just restarted and now it wont even work temporarily like last time. Is there any other standard stuff I can try..? maybe boot in safe mode?

Timbuktu wrote:

OK, you want the fiunctionality of the top left forward and back buttons in a 3 finger swipe to navigate to previous Finder/Folder views. Sorry, there was a misunderstanding on my part, seems like this functionality went out the window while introducing more trackpad configurations and tabbed Finder windows. I have mostly used the buttons to navigate to previous Finder views.

Swiping between fullscreen apps works great and is no concern. Although scrutinizer82 has a point. It is indeed possible to switch between fullscreen apps with FOUR fingers even if the setting is THREE fingers. Since there is no other action that can be triggered with a horizontal four finger swipe, this sub-problem might be neglectable for most of us.

The main problem is that it is no longer possible to use swipe gestures to go back and forth in Finder. In many other apps it is still possible, for example in Safari.

In Finder I have tried both, the setting with two and with three fingers, neither works. I also had the idea that Apple might have reassigned the gesture to switching between Finder tabs (they are new in Mavericks), but this is not the case.

So we keep waiting ....

As a couple people noted earlier in this thread, Better Touch Tool will get the 3-finger swiping back in Finder while we wait for a real fix. Being the impatient sort myself, I got it set up fairly easily with BTT. It's less elegant, and the Finder's "Go" menu flashes briefly when swiping forward or backward, but it does work.

I just tried the three finger swipe in Finder, and it functions as drag and drop.

do you have three finger drag on? Because I notice that three finger drag does more than just drag windows, it also acts as a click and drag for other things.

Yep, sure do.