Magic Mouse may be one of the best offerings of Apple for Macs so far. However, like all hardware, it has good and bad points. Although Magic Mouse is fun and intuitive to use, its lack of gesture customization options can make you either love or hate it. Let’s find out more about Magic Mouse below.
About Magic Mouse for Mac
Released on October 20, 2009, Magic Mouse is the first multi-touch mouse that can interpret gestures and detect multiple contact points. It can identify swiping movements between pages and pinching motions to zoom in and out of a page.
Magic Mouse is a wireless mouse that uses Bluetooth technology to communicate with Bluetooth-enabled Apple devices. It can be connected to any Mac, as long as it has a built-in Bluetooth module or a USB dongle.
It is powered by two AA batteries, which are already included in the package. These batteries are said to last up to three to four months.
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The multi-touch technology was first introduced in MacBook Pro, where it comes in a glass trackpad form that understands one- or two-finger gestures. After that, Apple was inspired to create a mouse with similar capabilities as a standard mouse, but with features that deliver a completely different user experience. This mouse is what the world knows today as Magic Mouse.
Magic Mouse Installation and Pairing
To use Magic Mouse, simply pair it with your Mac Mojave. Start by switching on your Magic Mouse. Next, go to System Preferences and find the Set up Bluetooth mouse option.
Follow the on-screen instructions so you’ll be guided through the entire pairing process. Don’t worry because it will be short and quick. Once your mouse and Mac are paired, you are all set.
However, to be able to use the multi-touch feature, you have to install the wireless mouse software. You can get it from Apple’s website. If your Mac is already running on Mac OS X 10.6.2 or later versions, you don’t need to download the software because the multi-touch feature is already installed.
After the installation of the wireless mouse software, your Mac will automatically reboot. If everything goes well, Magic Mouse should be completely functional and ready to take commands.
Magic Mouse Clicks
Magic Mouse clicks work similarly to the Mighty Mouse, a multi-control USB mouse that is supported by two buttons and a mini trackball. First, the touch sensor will determine where your fingertips are located. Once a click is made, a tactile feedback is produced to let the system know it’s a click gesture.
Aside from an ordinary click, you can also perform a middle click on Magic Mouse. However, to do so, you need to download Middle Click. You can get it for free. Once you have downloaded it, unzip the file and copy it to your applications folder.
But why do you need the Middle Click function? This allows Magic Mouse users to easily highlight and paste text. It also opens links in new browser tabs in just one click.
Before you launch the Middle Click app, you have to disable the Look Up gesture first. Open System Preferences > Trackpad and navigate to the Point and Click tab. Next, locate look up & data detectors and untick the box.
Go back to the Applications folder and open the Middle Click app. The app’s icon should be in the Menu bar now to indicate that it is active.
Finally, you want the Middle Click app to run at login. To do that, open System Preferences > Users and Groups. Click on your username and go to the Login items tab. Click the + icon and select Middle Click from the list.
Magic Mouse Gestures
As of this writing, Magic Mouse only supports four major gestures aside from the clicks. Gestures can either be tapping on the surface or gliding the fingers across the surface in a known pattern.
Here are the four gestures recognized by Magic Mouse:
- Scroll – To scroll up or down, move one finger vertically across the surface in an upward or downward motion. To perform a horizontal scroll, move one finger left to right. You may also combine vertical and horizontal scrolls to move a window in a circular motion. To do this, draw a circle on the surface of the mouse.
- Secondary Click – Tap the left-hand or right-hand half of the mouse to perform a secondary click.
- Swipe – Swiping is the only two-finger gesture that Magic Mouse recognizes. The swipe is quite similar to the scroll, except that you need to use two fingers instead of one. By swiping, you can conveniently navigate backward or forward in a browser, application, or window that supports the back and forward function.
- Screen Zoom – To zoom, you need a modifier key, which is usually the Control While performing a scroll gesture, you need to hold the modifier key down. The window or screen will then zoom in or out.
Conclusion
Magic Mouse is probably one of the best mice Apple has created. But like most hardware, it still has issues that need to be fixed. While some users were unable to perform right-clicks properly, others said that their Macs cannot detect the mouse. Well, at the end of the day, the web is a great resource to learn how to fix Magic Mouse issues.
If you still haven’t bought a Magic Mouse, then we suggest you prep your Mac Mojave first. Get rid of junk files and repair system errors to prevent them from causing problems with your Magic Mouse usage. Optimize your RAM as well, especially if you plan to use the Middle Click app, to ensure the mouse will respond quickly with every click.
For all this, you only need one tool: download and install Mac repair app. In just a few clicks, you can get rid of system errors and junk files, as well as optimize your RAM.
What Magic Mouse feature do you find interesting and useful? Do you find the Middle Click function handy? Leave your thoughts and questions below.