How to drag on a Mac without holding the button down
InputConfig is completely free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
On a trackpad, turn on Drag Lock in System Settings, Accessibility, Pointer Control, Trackpad Options. For a mouse, a controller or any other button, macOS has no click lock, and InputConfig adds one: set a click row to Toggles on and off, and one press holds the mouse button down until you press again.
I make InputConfig, a free Mac app. Holding a button while moving the pointer is one of the hardest things for my hands, so this is a setting I use all day.
Steps
- For a trackpad, open System Settings, Accessibility, Pointer Control, Trackpad Options, and choose With Drag Lock.
- For a mouse or another button, add a row in InputConfig with a main click as the output.
- Open the row's Options and set How it fires to Toggles on and off.
- Click Save and Activate.
- Press once to start the drag and again to drop.
Turn on Drag Lock for the trackpad
- You: Open System Settings, Accessibility, Pointer Control, and click Trackpad Options. Turn on Use trackpad for dragging and set Dragging style to With Drag Lock.
- macOS: Starts a drag when you double tap and hold, and keeps it going after you lift your finger.
- Check: Double tap a window's title bar, drag, lift, and tap once to drop it.
The same menu has Three Finger Drag, which drags while three fingers move and drops when they lift.
Add click lock for a mouse or any button
- You: In InputConfig, add a row with the button to use as the input and a Mouse Button output set to the main click. Open the row's Options and set How it fires to Toggles on and off.
- InputConfig: Holds the mouse button down on the first press and lets it go on the next.
- Check: Press once over a file, move the pointer, and press again to drop it.
Choose the button
- A mouse side button. Keep the main button as a normal click and use a side button as the lock.
- A controller button. With a stick moving the pointer, a face button can hold the drag.
- A foot pedal or a switch. The hand only has to steer.
- A spare key. F13 to F19 work well, because they type nothing.
Give the lock its own button, so a normal click stays a normal click.
Lock a modifier the same way
Toggles on and off works on keys too. A button that toggles Shift lets you click once at the start of a selection and once at the end. Sticky Keys on a Mac covers the built-in way and this one.
If a drag gets stuck
- Press the lock button again. That releases it.
- Use the emergency stop. It releases every held key and button at once. See emergency stop.
- Stop the preset. Held buttons are released when it stops.
The short version
- Trackpad. Accessibility, Pointer Control, Trackpad Options, With Drag Lock.
- Mouse, controller, pedal. A click row set to Toggles on and off in InputConfig.
- Stuck. Press the button again, or use the emergency stop.
A drag can be two presses and no holding.
Questions
Does a Mac have click lock for a mouse?
Not built in. macOS has Drag Lock for the trackpad only. InputConfig adds it for a mouse or any button: a click row set to Toggles on and off holds the button until the next press.
Where is Drag Lock on a Mac?
System Settings, Accessibility, Pointer Control, Trackpad Options. Turn on Use trackpad for dragging and choose With Drag Lock.
How do I release a locked drag?
With trackpad Drag Lock, tap once. With an InputConfig toggle row, press the same button again.
Can I drag with a game controller without holding a button?
Yes. Move the pointer with a stick and give one button a main click set to Toggles on and off.
Related
Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.
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