Use gestures with Photos
You can use trackpad gestures to browse and work with your photos.
Note: To use the tap or double-tap gestures in the table below, you must have “Tap to click” turned on in Trackpad preferences. To use the three-finger tap on a text object to look up information about the object, you must have “Look up & data detectors” turned on in Trackpad preferences. To see how trackpad gestures work and change your trackpad settings, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Trackpad.
View photos and albums
Action | Gesture |
|---|---|
View the photos in a moment, collection, or year | Tap or pinch open on the year, collection, or moment |
Zoom out of a moment or collection to see more photos at a time | Pinch closed |
Scroll up or down through photos in the Photos window | Swipe up or down with two fingers |
Open an individual photo | Double-tap the photo |
Zoom in or out while viewing an individual photo | Pinch open or closed |
Close an individual photo and see more photos | Pinch closed |
See the next or previous photo in a moment or album | Swipe left or right with two fingers |
Open a photo in the row of thumbnails | Tap the photo |
Export a photo | Drag the photo to the desktop |
Scroll up or down through your projects and albums | Swipe up or down with two fingers |
Open an album or project | Double-tap |
Open a contextual menu for a thumbnail to get information about it, rotate it, share it, delete it, and more | Tap a thumbnail with two fingers |
Edit photos
Action | Gesture |
|---|---|
While in edit view, open a contextual menu to change or get information about a photo | Tap a photo with two fingers |
Work on projects
Action | Gesture |
|---|---|
Open a page in a project | Double-tap the page |
Select a page or an item on a page | Tap |
Open a shortcut menu to work with a photo or display the Photo Options or Layout Options window | Tap a photo or gray area on a page with two fingers |
Open the Photo Options or Layout Options window | Double-tap a photo or text area on a page |
Open a contextual menu for a text object to get information about it, share it, cut or copy it, and more | Tap the text area with three fingers |