RibbonMac trackpad gestures for multitasking
Four gestures do most of the work: swipe up for Mission Control, swipe down for App Exposé, swipe sideways to change desktop, and spread your thumb and three fingers to show the desktop. All of them live in System Settings → Trackpad → More Gestures, where you can switch between three and four fingers or turn each one off.
The multitasking gestures
| Gesture | What it does | Setting name |
|---|---|---|
| Swipe up with three or four fingers | Mission Control: every window on this desktop | Mission Control |
| Swipe down with three or four fingers | App Exposé: the front app's windows | App Exposé (turn it on if it's off) |
| Swipe left or right with three or four fingers | Next or previous desktop or full-screen app | Swipe between full-screen applications |
| Spread thumb and three fingers apart | Show the desktop | Show Desktop |
| Swipe left from the right edge with two fingers | Notification Center | Notification Center |
| Swipe left or right with two fingers | Back and forward in browsers and Finder | Swipe between pages |
All of these are in the More Gestures tab. The other two tabs, Point & Click and Scroll & Zoom, cover clicking, scroll direction, zooming and rotating.
Three fingers or four?
Each of the sideways and up/down gestures can use three fingers or four. Which to pick:
- Three fingers is easier to do quickly.
- Four fingers keeps three free for something else, such as Three Finger Drag (in System Settings → Accessibility → Pointer Control → Trackpad Options), or a window manager's own swipe.
Three Finger Drag takes over three-finger swipes, so if you use it, set these gestures to four fingers.
Make the gestures more useful
- Turn on App Exposé. It's the fastest way to find one window among many from the same app, minimized ones included.
- Keep desktops in order. Swiping sideways is only predictable if the desktops don't reorder themselves. Turn off Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use in System Settings → Desktop & Dock. See stop your Mac rearranging Spaces.
- Hot corners are the mouse equivalent: System Settings → Desktop & Dock → Hot Corners….
Gestures and window managers
macOS's sideways swipe moves between desktops: a whole screen at a time. A scrolling window manager uses a sideways swipe differently, to slide along a strip of windows within one desktop.
Ribbon works this way. Its swipe moves the strip with your fingers, column by column, so you can glance at the window to the right and come back. It uses three fingers by default and can use four. Because macOS's own Swipe between full-screen applications captures the swipe when it's set to three fingers, you set that to four fingers (or off) and give three to Ribbon; the setup guide shows the exact steps. You end up with three fingers for windows and four for desktops.
The live demo lets you try the strip with your trackpad in the browser. Ribbon is $9.99 once for macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon.
FAQ
How do I change trackpad gestures on a Mac?
System Settings → Trackpad → More Gestures. Each gesture has a menu for three or four fingers, or off.
Why doesn't swiping with three fingers switch desktops?
It's set to four fingers, or Three Finger Drag is on and has taken three fingers. Check System Settings → Trackpad → More Gestures.
How do I see all windows with the trackpad?
Swipe up with three or four fingers for Mission Control. Swipe down for the current app's windows once App Exposé is turned on.
Can I use gestures with a Magic Mouse?
Some. Mouse settings have a two-finger double-tap for Mission Control and a two-finger swipe between full-screen apps. The multi-finger gestures need a trackpad.