How to force click and get haptic feedback on Apple trackpads
Trackpads that include Force Touch technology have sensors beneath the surface to detect differences in the amount of pressure you apply. This enables pressure-sensing features such as Force Click, and it includes haptic feedback.
What is Force Click and haptic feedback?
Force Click and haptic feedback are features of Force Touch trackpads.
To force click, press firmly on the trackpad until you feel a deeper click after the first click. This second click is a Force Click, which performs certain actions depending on context.
Haptic feedback is the tactile response you feel from a Force Touch trackpad when you click, or when in supported apps you perform actions such as moving shapes, text, or other objects into alignment.
Multi-Touch gestures are supported by both Force Touch trackpads and Multi-Touch trackpads.
Does your trackpad have Force Click and haptic feedback?
Trackpads that include Force Touch technology support Force Click and provide haptic feedback. Most modern Mac laptop computers have Force Touch, as do rechargeable models of Magic Trackpad. For all such trackpads, Trackpad settings includes a "Force Click and haptic feedback" setting:
From the Apple menu , choose System Settings (or System Preferences).
Click Trackpad.
In the Point & Click pane of Trackpad settings, look for "Force Click and haptic feedback". This setting is available only when using a Force Touch trackpad, which has these features. Apple trackpads without Force Touch have a mechanical click instead of Force Click, and don't provide haptic feedback.
What can you do with Force Click?
To force click, press firmly on the trackpad until you feel a deeper click after the first click. Here are some of the things you can do with pressure-sensing features like Force Click, as well as alternatives that also work with trackpads that don’t include Force Touch.
On trackpads with Force Touch | Alternatives |
|---|---|
Look up: Force click text in a webpage, email, or document to see more information about the text from sources like Dictionary, Wikipedia, and more.1 | Tap with three fingers.2 Or Control-click the text and choose Look Up from the shortcut menu. |
Data detection: Force click a date, address, location, phone number, calendar event, flight number, package-tracking number, URL, and more to see a popover with a preview of information related to that data. Different apps have different types of data that can be detected. | Tap with three fingers.2 Or move your pointer over the text, then click the arrow in the box that outlines it, if available. |
Quick Look: Force click a file in the Finder to see a preview of the file's content. | Tap with three fingers.2 Or click the file to select it, then press Space bar. |
File rename: Force click a file's name in the Finder to edit the name. | Click the file to select it, then press Return. |
App Exposé: Force click an app in the Dock to see all open windows for that app. | Click and hold or Control-click the app, then choose Show All Windows from the shortcut menu. Other methods are also available. |
Mark a location in Maps: Force click a location to drop a pin there. | Click and hold the location, or Control-click it and choose Mark Location from the shortcut menu. |
Variable speed media controls: In supported apps, vary the pressure on the trackpad when you click media-control buttons, such as fast-forward and rewind. | In some apps, you can click the media control more than once instead. |
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A Force Touch trackpad doesn’t click, force click, or provide other haptic feedback when it's turned off.
