How to use BetterTouchTool to control all Mac input devices

The touchpad has revolutionized the way people use their devices. But too often, Mac users don’t take advantage of this powerful input hardware. It’s capable of highly sensitive, specific tasks, but we tend to treat it more or less like a big flat mouse.

That’s where BetterTouchTool comes in handy. This powerful utility gives you total control over all of your Mac’s input devices, including a touchpad, Touch Bar, mouse, and keyboard.

Power up your Mac with custom gestures

Some call it magic; we call it a must-have app. BetterTouchTool lets you create custom actions for your trackpad, mouse, keyboard, and other input devices. Think of keyboard shortcuts, gestures for anything you want, or your Touch Bar finally becoming useful.

Create custom gestures for anything

We’re not kidding when saying “anything.” You can choose from dozens of triggers (like taps or swipes) and resulting actions (anything from adjusting the volume to minimizing windows) and combine them to fit your unique flow.

Say goodbye to repetitive clicking and typing. The more you get to know this tool, the less you’ll have to click. Here’s how to save yourself a lot of time.

In this example, we’ve added a gesture to bring a window to the center with a single trackpad click.

Here’s how to create a gesture:

Choose the input device you want to set a gesture for
Click the plus button and select a trigger from the list
Then, assign the action to that trigger. You can browse the entire list for ideas or use the search to quickly find the desired action.

Come up with app-specific shortcuts

You may want a gesture to do different things depending on the app you’re using. For example, we’ve made a keyboard shortcut to quickly rotate files in Preview.

Want to do something similar for your favorite app? Click the plus button at the bottom left and choose the app. Then go on with selecting triggers and actions.

Level up your Touch Bar

Feeling like your Touch Bar could be more useful? With BetterTouchTool, you can make it yours. Add your own buttons, widgets, custom gestures, and more.

To start, choose Touch Bar on the list of input devices. Then, you can play around with triggers and actions to create your dream setup.

BetterTouchTool helps fine-tune the way you interact with your Mac, making your working relationship even more natural. Check it out on Setapp, a subscription to 240+ best-in-class apps for your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. All the tools are free to try during a seven-day trial. Sign up for Setapp today