Contrary to what you might have imagined, Chromebooks aren’t that different from Windows and Mac laptops. They’ve got very much the same features, all the way down to the simple act of using the right-click.
And similarly to its Apple and Microsoft counterparts, right-clicking on Chrome OS brings up contextual menus and executes other support operations.
Also, while it’s all well and good if you’ve got a physical mouse hooked up to your Google-powered device, how do you go about doing a right-click on a touchpad?
Better yet, is there a way to use the keyboard to get some right-click action?
Read on below to find out.
How to Right Click on Chromebook with a Touchpad
Chromebooks are designed with touchpad tapping in mind. This means that the ability to click with a simple touch of your fingers is turned on right out the gate. For all you Mac and Windows users, this is nothing new. The main divide comes with the physical click of the lower part of the touchpad.
Most laptops reserve the lower right corner for right-clicking, but Chromebooks don’t have this luxury. In fact, anywhere you press on the lower part of a Google-powered laptop’s touchpad will result in a regular click.
To right-click on a Chromebook, you need to use a two-finger tap. Hold two fingers out and gently tap the surface once to register a right-click. You’ll know you’ve done this right when the contextual menu appears.
One common way this could go wrong is if you tap with two fingers and your computer scrolls instead. This typically happens because you held your fingers on your touchpad for too long. It’s essential to just tap two fingers once and lift them up immediately to get the right-click command.
How to Set up Two Finger Right Click
As we mentioned above, two-finger tapping is on by default on Chromebooks. However, there are rare cases where the command isn’t registering. In all likelihood, this means the feature was turned off for one reason or another.
Follow these steps to enable it again:
Step 1: Access Settings
Click on the bottom right corner of your taskbar, where your WiFi indicator and clock are. This will bring up the Quick Menu. To access Settings, select the cogwheel icon.
Step 2: Go Into Touchpad Settings
After the Settings window opens, scroll down until you see the Devices section, then click the Touchpad option.
Step 3: Enable Tap to Click
From this menu, you can enable the tap-to-click feature. Find it at the top and enable it by clicking the switch. Your two-finger tap should now work.
How to Right Click on Chromebook on Keyboard
Right-clicking on a keyboard isn’t exactly a key shortcut. In fact, it doesn’t eliminate the use of the touchpad entirely. However, it’s the next best thing if you’re more of a keyboard warrior. In order for this to work, you’ll need the ensure tap-to-click is enabled first. Follow the instructions in the above section.
To right-click using your keyboard on a Chromebook, you’ll need to first hold down the Alt key and then use your single-finger tap. This will register as a right-click and bring up the contextual menu.
