11 MacOS apps to increase productivity with trackpad

Ilya Rodionov — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 14:45:25 +0000

MacOS built-in gestures

If you aren't new to Mac trackpad you can skip this part. MacOS has various built-in trackpad gestures:

Two fingers horizontal swipe to switch between pages.
Three fingers horizontal swipe to switch between fullscreen apps.
Two fingers left swipe from the right edge to show Notification Center.
Three fingers up swipe to open Mission Control.
Three fingers down swipe to open App Exposé.
Four fongers spread to show your desktop.
Four fingers pinch to display Launchpad.

You can change them or turn them of in System Settings > Trackpad > More Gestures.

BetterTouchTool

Superior app that can do everything and even more. It allows you to customize trackpad, mouse, touchbar, keyboard and even MIDI. The possibilities don't stop there: BTT, for example, has a built-in window manager. With BetterTouchTool, you can customize actions for various gestures, taps and swipes. You can even create your own gestures with BTT. In short, if you want to do something with the trackpad, chances are BetterTouchTool can help you with it.

Site: https://folivora.ai/
Price: $10 for a standard license with 2 years support or $22 for a lifetime license
Source code: not available

Multitouch

A simpler alternative to BetterTouchTool. It allows you to customize actions for various gestures, touches and swipes. Like BTT, it has a built-in window manager.

Site: https://multitouch.app/
Price: $16
Source code: not available

Middle

An app from the developer of Multitouch to emulate a middle click.

Site: https://middleclick.app/
Price: $8
Source code: not available

MiddleClick

If you want a middle click but free and open source, then MiddleClick is the way to go. A simple and incredibly useful application that adds a middle click on a three-finger touch/tap. The application is free, the source code is open.
You can install it via homebrew:



brew install --cask --no-quarantine middleclick

Site: https://github.com/artginzburg/MiddleClick-Ventura
Price: free
Source code: https://github.com/artginzburg/MiddleClick-Ventura

Gestr

Launch apps and bookmarks on your Mac with multitouch trackpad drawings.

Site: https://github.com/mhuusko5/Gestr
Price: free
Source code: https://github.com/mhuusko5/Gestr

Touch-Tab

Emulate Command-Tab with Trackpad on macOS. Use 3-fingers swipe right (emulates Command-Tab) or 3-fingers swipe left (emulates Command-Shift-Tab) to switch between apps. Hold after the swipe or swipe slowly to show the App Switcher UI.
Disclaimer: I'm the developer

Site: https://github.com/ris58h/Touch-Tab
Price: free
Source code: https://github.com/ris58h/Touch-Tab

Swish

Trackpad-oriented window manager. Swish features 30 easy-to-use titlebar, dock and menubar gestures that will supercharge your workflow and make you a trackpad power user.

Site: https://highlyopinionated.co/swish/
Price: $16
Source code: not available

Grid

Another trackpad-oriented window manager. Swipe on title bar to snap windows.

Site: https://macgrid.app/
Price: $4
Source code: not available

Penc

Yet another window manager designed for trackpad usage. Double press and hold command key to activate Penc. Perform two-finger gestures to move or resize any window. Then release command key to take effect.

Site: https://deniz.co/penc/
Price: free
Source code: https://github.com/dgurkaynak/Penc

Jitouch

Mac application that expands the set of multi-touch gestures for MacBook, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad. These thoughtfully designed gestures enable users to perform frequent tasks more easily such as changing tabs in web browsers, closing windows, minimizing windows, changing spaces, and a lot more.

Site: https://www.jitouch.com/
Price: free
Source code: https://github.com/JitouchApp/Jitouch

Noo

Noo allows you to map mouse buttons and multi-touch gestures to any combination of keys.
Available in AppStore.

Site: https://github.com/tanin47/noo
Price: free
Source code: https://github.com/tanin47/noo

Forem: Ilya Rodionov