Questions
What buttons does a Magic Mouse have?
One. The whole top of a Magic Mouse is a single surface that clicks, and everything else is done by touch: a right click on one side once you switch it on, scrolling by brushing a finger, and a few swipes and taps. It has no scroll wheel to press, no middle button and no side buttons.
I make InputConfig, a free Mac app that can give the clicks a Magic Mouse does have extra jobs. This page starts with what Apple built in.
Steps
- Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
- Click Mouse in the sidebar, with the Magic Mouse connected.
- Turn on Secondary click and choose the right or the left side.
- Press that side of the mouse to right click.
- Brush one finger along the surface to scroll.
Know what it has
These are the gestures in Apple's guides for the Magic Mouse and for Mouse settings:
| What you do | What it does |
|---|---|
| Press the top surface | Click, or double click |
| Press the left or right side | Secondary click, once it is switched on |
| Brush one finger along the surface | Scroll or pan in any direction |
| Swipe left or right with two fingers | Move through pages, photos and more |
| Double-tap with one finger | Smart zoom |
| Double-tap with two fingers | Mission Control |
Every button on a Magic Mouse is the same surface, read in different ways.
InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.
Turn on the right click
- You: Open System Settings, click Mouse, and turn on Secondary click. Choose whether it is the right side or the left.
- macOS: Treats a press on that side as a secondary click, which is the right click.
- Check: Press that side over a file. Its shortcut menu opens.
Apple's guide gives a second way that needs no setting: hold the Control key and click. The right click exists on a Magic Mouse, and it is a setting, not a separate button.
Know what it lacks
- A scroll wheel. Scrolling is a finger brushed along the top, so there is no wheel to press.
- A middle button. Apple's Mouse settings list a secondary click and no middle click. How to middle click on a Mac has the ways around that.
- Side buttons. There are no Back and Forward buttons. The two-finger swipe left or right moves through pages instead.
For a real middle or side button you need a mouse that has one.
If the right click does not work
Climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Check the switch. System Settings, Mouse, Secondary click.
- Check the side. The setting names a side. Press that one.
- Try Control and click. It works without the setting.
- See what the Mac receives. The mouse tester shows which button each press arrives as.
Start with the Secondary click setting, because it can be off or set to the other side.
Give its clicks more jobs
A Magic Mouse can be an input in InputConfig, like any other mouse. A row can listen for a double click, which fires on the second click of a pair, so a single click keeps doing what it always did. The output can be a shortcut, a macro, an app or a system function. Mouse buttons, keys and trackpad as shortcuts has the details, and how to map extra mouse buttons covers mice with more buttons. InputConfig adds jobs to the clicks a mouse sends, and it cannot add buttons the mouse does not have.
The short version
- Has. One clicking surface, a right click you switch on, touch scrolling, swipes and taps.
- Lacks. A wheel, a middle button, side buttons.
- Right click. System Settings, Mouse, Secondary click, or Control and click.
A Magic Mouse trades buttons for gestures.
Questions
Does the Magic Mouse have buttons?
It has one clickable surface on top. A right click is available as the Secondary click setting, on the right or left side, and everything else is a touch gesture.
Does the Magic Mouse have a scroll wheel?
No. Apple's guide says to brush one finger along the surface to scroll or pan in any direction.
Does the Magic Mouse have a middle button?
No. Apple's Mouse settings list a secondary click and gestures, and no middle click.
Does the Magic Mouse have back and forward buttons?
No. A two-finger swipe left or right moves through pages instead.
Why is right click not working on my Magic Mouse?
Secondary click is probably off, or set to the other side. Turn it on in System Settings, Mouse. Holding Control while you click works without the setting.
Related
Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.