When using an iPad, it is important to be aware of the gestures that can be used to interact with the device. There are a number of different gestures that can be used, and it is important to understand how they work in order to use them effectively. One common gesture is the finger swipe gesture. This gesture can be used to navigate through menus and pages on the device. The finger swipe gesture can also be used to select items within a document or application. Another common gesture is the three-finger swipe gesture. This gesture can be used to scroll through pages or documents on the device. The three-finger swipe gesture can also be used to zoom in or out on images or videos on the device. There are also a number of other gestures that can be used when using an iPad. These gestures include pinch-to-zoom, drag-and-drop, and double-tap-to-click. It is important to understand which gestures work best for each situation in order to use them effectively.
Starting with iPadOS 13.4, you can connect any Bluetooth mouse and trackpad to your iPad to enable the new cursor feature. Pairing Apple’s Magic Trackpad or any other third-party option is just like pairing any other Bluetooth accessory.
RELATED: How to Connect a Bluetooth Mouse or Trackpad to Your iPad
Once the trackpad is paired and active, you’ll be able to use it just like you use the trackpad on a Mac—it even has some of the same gestures that you might already be used to on the Mac.
You can swipe around with one finger to move the pointer, which shows up as a translucent gray circle.
But the reason why you connected a Magic Trackpad is the gestures. Here’s a list of all the trackpad gestures supported by the iPad:
Right-Click: Tap or click with two fingers. Scroll: Swipe up or down with two fingers to scroll. Forward/Backward: Swipe left/right with two fingers to go forward/backward and in apps with nested menus (like the Settings app). Zoom: Pinch in and out to zoom. Spotlight: Swipe down with two fingers on the Home screen to reveal the Spotlight search bar. Switch apps: Swipe left or right with three fingers to switch apps (also works in Slide Over panel). Home: Swipe up with three fingers to go Home. App Switcher: Swipe up with three fingers and hold to enter the App Switcher. Quit Apps: Flick up with three fingers on an app in the multitasking view to force quit it.
If you’re used to the tap-to-click gesture on your Mac, you can enable this functionality for the iPad by going to Settings > General > Trackpad. Here, tap on the toggle next to the “Tap to Click” option.
While you’re here, you may want to enable the “Two-Finger Secondary Click” option as well.
That’s not all, you can actually customize the behavior and look of the cursor in great detail. Take a look at our guide on customizing the iPad cursor.
RELATED: How to Use and Customize the Cursor on Your iPad
