4 ms·

I have better than 20/20 vision (yes, really) and now mobility problems, but there are some macOS accessibility features that I love. One is Zoom: I hold down

by anyfoo 2y ago

I have better than 20/20 vision (yes, really) and now mobility problems, but there are some macOS accessibility features that I love. One is Zoom: I hold down two modifier keys and scroll, and can instantly zoom in to any part of the screen. It is extremely smooth, the more you scroll the higher you zoom, instantly and with high frame rate. Great when you want to show someone something, or just zoom into a detail of something if the app doesn’t support it or is two cumbersome. Or “pseudo-fullscreen” something. The other one is three finger drag on the trackpad. Why that isn’t default is beyond me. It means that if you use three fingers, any dragging on the trackpad behaves as if you held the button down. It’s so convenient.

eviks 2y ago
It's better to have an easy way to hold a mouse button via keyboard with your left hand and continue to use one finger on the touchpad rather than do the whole three fingers to drag
- anyfoo 2y ago
  Not for me, no. But sounds like something accessibility options may also provide, and I can see how it may be better for a lot of people.
  - eviks 2y ago
    Which one have you tried?
    - anyfoo 2y ago
      Honestly? Only three finger drag. But just earlier I was holding coffee with the left hand, while using the trackpad to the right hand, and was glad I had three finger draw. I like doing "basic" mouse operations with only one hand (including right click: two fingers), and three finger drag works extremely well for me. I barely even think about it, it's automatic and an easy gesture for me. In turn, I am interested why you do think that your way is (apparently universally) better?
      - eviks 2y ago
        Yeah, that's what I thought - you haven't used it before confidently rejecting The other way is better mostly because it doesn't interrupt the drag when you move fingers up (e.g., when you've started drag right at the right touchpad side and don't have enough space), though there is an invisible timer hack that tries to address it, and since 3 fingers take more space on the touchpad, so you're losing range > coffee with the left hand Still possible with the keyboard, though loses on convenience, likely better to dedicate some area of a touchpad for a touch+move to drag > with only one hand (including right click: two fingers), This doesn't make sense, literal right lick is 1 finger of 1 hand, same as bottom-right corner tap And it's not universally better, don't make it up, just better than what I've explicitly mentioned
        anyfoo 2y ago
        > > coffee with the left hand > Still possible with the keyboard While drinking it? When using the mouse, I’m often relaxed, sometimes for example having my forearm lying in front of the keyboard. > > with only one hand (including right click: two fingers), > This doesn't make sense, literal right lick is 1 finger of 1 hand, same as bottom-right corner tap What doesn’t make sense? Right click is two finger tap for me, which is super common. I don’t see the downside either. Your way has advantages, my way has advantages, so far I don’t see a strict ordering that applies to everyone or even every situation.
        eviks 2y ago
        > sometimes for example having my forearm lying in front of the keyboard. But you can still reach space or right command key with your middle/ring finger? That would allow you to use 1 finger to drag, not worry about lifting your dragging finger while dragging and get more range > What doesn’t make sense? You listing that gesture as some kind of alternative while the default is already 1-handed > I don’t see the downside either. The downside is that scrolling with two fingers might misfire when you change your mind and cancel scrolling right away, so place 2 fingers and lift them up, thus triggering a right click > so far I don’t see a strict ordering that applies to everyone or even every situation. And you'll never see it with your eyes closed. You need to actually try this stuff to be able to judge it, to see whether you drink coffee often enough as a % of your computer time to make the worse gesture better because it frees up your hand and the other one-hand alternative is not as convenient, or whether the mistakes of breaking a drag gesture on a bunch of files/objects in a graphics app leaving them in the wrong place are bad enough
simonbarker87 2y ago
The default way to drag on a trackpad is something I’ve never gotten good with so I always enable drag lock the second I get a new laptop. Ideally I would switch to the three finger gesture but after 15 years of drag lock I just can’t get my brain to switch over.
floydnoel 2y ago
three finger dragger for life here. whenever I see colleagues struggling to drag items on a Mac, I show them three finger dragging and it blows them away. total game-changer!
anyfoo 2y ago
> and now mobility problems Meant to write “no mobility problems”, but too late to edit now.

by anyfoo 2y ago

eviks 2y ago

It's better to have an easy way to hold a mouse button via keyboard with your left hand and continue to use one finger on the touchpad rather than do the whole three fingers to drag

anyfoo 2y ago
Not for me, no. But sounds like something accessibility options may also provide, and I can see how it may be better for a lot of people.
- eviks 2y ago
  Which one have you tried?
  - anyfoo 2y ago
    Honestly? Only three finger drag. But just earlier I was holding coffee with the left hand, while using the trackpad to the right hand, and was glad I had three finger draw. I like doing "basic" mouse operations with only one hand (including right click: two fingers), and three finger drag works extremely well for me. I barely even think about it, it's automatic and an easy gesture for me. In turn, I am interested why you do think that your way is (apparently universally) better?
    - eviks 2y ago
      Yeah, that's what I thought - you haven't used it before confidently rejecting The other way is better mostly because it doesn't interrupt the drag when you move fingers up (e.g., when you've started drag right at the right touchpad side and don't have enough space), though there is an invisible timer hack that tries to address it, and since 3 fingers take more space on the touchpad, so you're losing range > coffee with the left hand Still possible with the keyboard, though loses on convenience, likely better to dedicate some area of a touchpad for a touch+move to drag > with only one hand (including right click: two fingers), This doesn't make sense, literal right lick is 1 finger of 1 hand, same as bottom-right corner tap And it's not universally better, don't make it up, just better than what I've explicitly mentioned
      - anyfoo 2y ago
        > > coffee with the left hand > Still possible with the keyboard While drinking it? When using the mouse, I’m often relaxed, sometimes for example having my forearm lying in front of the keyboard. > > with only one hand (including right click: two fingers), > This doesn't make sense, literal right lick is 1 finger of 1 hand, same as bottom-right corner tap What doesn’t make sense? Right click is two finger tap for me, which is super common. I don’t see the downside either. Your way has advantages, my way has advantages, so far I don’t see a strict ordering that applies to everyone or even every situation.
        eviks 2y ago
        > sometimes for example having my forearm lying in front of the keyboard. But you can still reach space or right command key with your middle/ring finger? That would allow you to use 1 finger to drag, not worry about lifting your dragging finger while dragging and get more range > What doesn’t make sense? You listing that gesture as some kind of alternative while the default is already 1-handed > I don’t see the downside either. The downside is that scrolling with two fingers might misfire when you change your mind and cancel scrolling right away, so place 2 fingers and lift them up, thus triggering a right click > so far I don’t see a strict ordering that applies to everyone or even every situation. And you'll never see it with your eyes closed. You need to actually try this stuff to be able to judge it, to see whether you drink coffee often enough as a % of your computer time to make the worse gesture better because it frees up your hand and the other one-hand alternative is not as convenient, or whether the mistakes of breaking a drag gesture on a bunch of files/objects in a graphics app leaving them in the wrong place are bad enough

simonbarker87 2y ago

The default way to drag on a trackpad is something I’ve never gotten good with so I always enable drag lock the second I get a new laptop. Ideally I would switch to the three finger gesture but after 15 years of drag lock I just can’t get my brain to switch over.

floydnoel 2y ago

three finger dragger for life here. whenever I see colleagues struggling to drag items on a Mac, I show them three finger dragging and it blows them away. total game-changer!

anyfoo 2y ago

> and now mobility problems Meant to write “no mobility problems”, but too late to edit now.