Short answer
Hold Control and click. On a trackpad, click with two fingers. On a mouse, click the right side. If nothing happens, check how Secondary click is set in System Settings › Trackpad or Mouse.
Now make that menu useful: Ricly adds 17 file tools to it. Free for Mac.
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Right-click with the keyboard: Control-click
- Press and hold the Control key, then click the item with your trackpad or mouse. The menu opens under the pointer.
- It works on any Mac, with any trackpad or mouse, and there’s no setting to change.
- Hold Control (⌃), not Option or Command.
- One Apple keyboard has a key just for this. On the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keyboard (USB-C), the Contextual Menu key, below F13, opens the menu from the keyboard.
Right-click on a MacBook trackpad
- Click with two fingers: rest two fingers on the trackpad and press.
- If you turned on Tap to click, a light two-finger tap works too.
- To change how it works, go to System Settings › Trackpad › Point & Click › Secondary click and open its menu. You can pick a two-finger click, a click in the bottom-right corner, or a click in the bottom-left corner.
- On macOS 15 Sequoia, the choices read Click or Tap with Two Fingers (Click with Two Fingers when Tap to click is off), Click in Bottom Right Corner and Click in Bottom Left Corner.
Right-click with a Magic Mouse or any mouse
- A mouse with two buttons usually works right away: press the right button.
- A Magic Mouse has no visible buttons. Its right-click is a press on the right side of its top surface.
- If that does nothing, open System Settings, click Mouse, and set Secondary click to Click Right Side. Left-handed? Choose Click Left Side.
Right-click not working on your Mac?
- Try Control-click. If it opens the menu, your Mac is fine: the problem is the trackpad or mouse setting.
- Check the setting. Check how Secondary click is set in System Settings › Trackpad (or Mouse).
- Check the device. A wireless mouse or trackpad needs a charge and a connection. Look in System Settings › Bluetooth.
- Restart your Mac.
The menu opens, but an app’s items are missing?
- An app adds its items through a Finder extension, which can be switched off. Open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions and turn the app’s extension back on. On macOS 13 and 14, it’s in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Extensions.
- Then relaunch the Finder: press Option-Command-Esc, select Finder, then click Relaunch.
- Ricly checks this for you. If its extension is on but not running, Ricly says “Ricly isn’t in your right-click menu” and offers a Restart Finder button.
The right-click way
What you can do from the right-click menu
- Built in, the Quick Actions submenu can rotate a photo, create a PDF or convert an image. See what Quick Actions do.
- Apps can add their own items. Ricly adds one menu with 17 file tools: compress a PDF or a photo, turn HEIC into JPG, make an MP3 or an MP4, remove a background, or share a large file with a link.
- The menu shows only the tools that fit what you selected.
- Every tool runs on your Mac. Only Upload & Share sends a file, to give you a link.
“What I love most is having all these useful tools directly in the Finder right-click menu. No need to open different apps or search through settings. I just right-click a file and the tools I need are instantly there.”
Right-clicking on a Mac: common questions
What is the right-click key on a Mac?
Most Mac keyboards don’t have one: hold Control while you click. The Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keyboard (USB-C) adds a Contextual Menu key, below F13.
How do I right-click on a MacBook Air without a mouse?
Click the trackpad with two fingers, or hold Control and click. If two fingers don’t work, open System Settings › Trackpad and check Secondary click.
Is Control-click the same as right-click?
Yes. On a Mac, Control-click, secondary click and right-click open the same menu.
How do I right-click with a Magic Mouse?
Press the right side of its surface. If nothing happens, set System Settings › Mouse › Secondary click to Click Right Side.
Why doesn’t right-click work on my Mac?
Check two things: how Secondary click is set in System Settings › Trackpad or Mouse, and the battery of a wireless mouse or trackpad. Control-click works whatever the Secondary click setting.
