Learn how to enable three-finger drag on your MacBook’s built-in trackpad or a Magic Trackpad to make it easier to move windows and select text.
The three-finger drag gesture allows you to select text or move a window or other element by dragging it with three fingers on the trackpad. It can be used to quickly move or adjust the position of windows, files, or images on the screen.
This gesture is awesome, but it’s disabled by default.
The default behavior
Apple’s default drag behavior for the MacBook trackpad is to make you tap and hold on the trackpad, then drag to where you want to be. This can be significantly inconvenient, especially for people who have been using Macs for a long time. What’s more, those with physical disabilities and dexterity issues can find the gesture confusing and frustrating to use.
The good news is you can easily enable three-finger drag from Mac’s settings to make all this easier. Once enabled, simply place three fingers on the trackpad and move them in the direction you want the element to move. The element will follow the movement of your fingers on the trackpad.
Turn on three-finger drag to move windows and copy text on Mac
- Open System Settings and go to Accessibility > Pointer Control.
- Click the Trackpad Options button.
- Enable the switch for ‘Use trackpad for dragging.’
- Click the drop-down menu next to Dragging style and set it to Three Finger Drag.
- Finally, hit OK.
On macOS Monterey and earlier
- Launch System Preferences and go to Accessibility.
- In macOS Monterey and macOS Big Sur, click Pointer Control. On macOS Catalina and earlier, go with Mouse & Trackpad.
- Click Trackpad Options.
- Check the box for Enable dragging and set it to ‘three finger drag.’
- Save the new changes by clicking OK.
Note: Obviously, you won’t see ‘Trackpad Options’ if you have never connected a trackpad to your Mac desktop.
Important: After enabling three-finger drag, you will have to enter Mission Control by swiping up using four fingers instead of three. You can access this option from System Settings > Trackpad > More Gestures > Mission Control. But if you set Mission Control to “Swipe Up with Three Fingers,” it will turn off the trackpad’s Three Finger Drag.
Other useful tips: