TipTap on a Mac: tap with one finger while another rests
A TipTap is a trackpad gesture where one finger rests on the trackpad and a second finger taps once beside it, either to its left or to its right. macOS has nothing like it among its own trackpad gestures, so to use one you need a gesture app. In Trill, TipTap left and TipTap right are ready to use: three of its Gesture Sets use them to switch tabs in browsers and code editors, and to undo and redo in writing apps.
The gesture sounds fiddly written down. In the hand it is one of the quickest things a trackpad can do, because the finger that was moving the pointer stays exactly where it was.
How a TipTap differs from the taps macOS knows
macOS already reads several kinds of tap, all set in System Settings, Trackpad:
- Tap to click, under Point & Click: one finger taps, and the Mac clicks.
- Secondary click, under Point & Click: can be a click or tap with two fingers, which gives you a right click.
- Look up & data detectors, under Point & Click: can be a tap with three fingers.
- Smart zoom, under Scroll & Zoom: a double tap with two fingers.
In every one of those, the fingers land together and lift together. A TipTap is different in timing. The first finger is already on the trackpad before anything happens, it stays there throughout, and only the second finger taps. Two fingers are involved, but they arrive at different moments and do different things, which is what makes the gesture distinct from a two-finger tap.
That timing is also what makes it comfortable. Most of the time one finger is on the trackpad anyway, steering the pointer. A TipTap uses that finger as an anchor instead of asking you to lift it and put several fingers down at once.
Doing one
Try it on a blank part of the desktop before giving it a job, so nothing happens if you get it wrong.
- Rest your index finger on the trackpad, as you would after moving the pointer.
- Keep it there, still. With your middle finger, tap once just to the right of it. That is a TipTap right.
- Lift both fingers.
- Now rest your middle finger on the trackpad, and with your index finger tap once just to its left. That is a TipTap left.
A few things help in the first days:
- Tap, do not press. The second finger should touch and lift, the way it would for Tap to click. Pressing down until the trackpad clicks is a click, not a TipTap.
- Keep the resting finger still. A finger that slides while the other taps is also moving the pointer, which is not what you meant.
The quickest way to learn it is feedback. On a Force Touch trackpad, Trill taps back with a tick under your fingers the moment it recognises a TipTap, before the action runs, so you can tell a TipTap that landed from one that did not without looking at the screen. On a trackpad without Force Touch, Trill shows each gesture on screen instead.
Where a TipTap earns its place
Left and right map naturally onto back and forward, previous and next, undo and redo. Trill’s Gesture Sets use it in exactly that way, and the same gesture does a different job depending on the app in front.
| Gesture Set | Apps | TipTap right | TipTap left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browser | Safari, Chrome, Arc, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Orion | Next tab | Previous tab |
| Writing | Pages, Word, Notes, Bear, Obsidian, Ulysses, iA Writer | Redo | Undo |
| Developer | Xcode, VS Code, Cursor, Terminal, iTerm, Ghostty, Warp | Next tab | Previous tab |
In a browser, a TipTap is the trackpad version of Control-Tab. Reading through a row of tabs you opened from a search becomes rest, tap, read, tap, with the hand never leaving the trackpad. The Browser set adds four-finger swipes to close and reopen a tab, covered in closing, reopening and switching browser tabs with trackpad gestures.
In a writing app, undo is one of the shortcuts you press most, and one of the least comfortable to reach while your hand is on the trackpad. Select a sentence, cut it, decide that was a mistake, and a TipTap left puts it back. The Writing set also gives a four-finger tap to start dictation.
In a code editor or terminal, TipTap right and left move between tabs, the same as in a browser, so one habit covers both. The Developer set adds a four-finger tap that shows the terminal: VS Code’s and Cursor’s own terminal panel, or Terminal brought forward when you are in Xcode.
Each set is switched on with one click. Outside the listed apps, the set’s TipTaps do nothing, so a TipTap left in Mail will not undo anything unless you give it that job yourself.
Making a TipTap of your own
Any app can have TipTaps that suit it, and making your own trackpad gestures covers recording in more detail. Press New gesture in Trill and do a TipTap on the trackpad. Trill names the gesture it saw, you pick what it does, and the rule reads back as a sentence, so you can check it before you rely on it. Each gesture works everywhere, or only in the apps you choose.
Some pairings that follow the same left and right logic:
- Finder: TipTap left for back, TipTap right for forward, using the Back a page and Forward a page actions. They press Command-[ and Command-], which Finder uses for back and forward too.
- Mail: TipTap right to archive the message, with the Press keys action set to Control-Command-A, Mail’s shortcut for Archive.
- A browser outside the Browser set: the Next tab and Previous tab actions, in that browser alone.
The Press keys action is the catch-all. If an app has a menu command with a shortcut, a TipTap can press it for you, in that app only.
If you use the Hyper Key, hold it for a moment in any app and Trill’s cheat sheet lists every gesture and shortcut that works there, TipTaps included. It is the quickest way to remember which app got which pairing.
TipTap in BetterTouchTool and in Trill
TipTap is not unique to Trill. BetterTouchTool’s trackpad gestures include tip-taps, alongside taps, clicks and swipes with one to five fingers, corner clicks, edge swipes and drawing gestures. It has more than 600 built-in actions and covers far more devices than Trill, from the Magic Mouse to Stream Deck and game controllers. If you want one app for every input device you own, that breadth is the reason to choose it.
Trill has two TipTaps, left and right, one resting finger and one tapping finger. What it adds is the setup around them: ready-made sets that already give each TipTap a sensible job in the apps you use, a gesture you record by doing it, and a tick under your finger when it lands. Trill costs $29 once for up to 3 Macs, and it is free for 24 hours from the first launch with every feature.
Questions
Is a TipTap the same as a two-finger tap?
No. In a two-finger tap both fingers land and lift together, and macOS can treat that as a right click. In a TipTap one finger is already resting on the trackpad, stays down, and the other taps beside it.
Which way is TipTap right?
The side where the tapping finger lands. Rest one finger and tap to its right for TipTap right; tap to its left for TipTap left.
Does TipTap work on a Magic Trackpad?
Yes. Trill’s gestures work on a MacBook’s built-in trackpad and on a Magic Trackpad. The tick you feel needs a Force Touch trackpad; on others, Trill shows each gesture on screen.
Can I use a TipTap with a mouse?
No. A TipTap needs a trackpad, because it depends on one finger resting while another taps.