How to Use the Trackpad on Unibody MacBooks

Using the glass trackpad on the new MacBook family may seem easy for some, but not everyone has used a Mac before. For those people, Apple has posted a new knowledge base article detailing the proper use of the trackpad on new MacBook models.

The new smooth glass Multi-Touch trackpad on the MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2009) gives users almost 40 percent more tracking area than before, according to Apple. This makes it easier to use Multi-Touch gestures like pinch, rotate and swipe.

New gestures allow users to activate Exposé or switch between applications at the touch of a fingertip, while the entire trackpad surface is also a button, allowing users to both track and click virtually anywhere on the trackpad. Users can easily enable multiple virtual buttons in software, such as right-clicking. While all this seems easy to use in theory, for some, it may be a tad more difficult at first.

An excerpt from Apple's new Support document outlines the methods of using the trackpad “to move the cursor and click, scroll, tap, double-tap, and drag.” Apple advises those who might want to fine-tune the tracking speed and set other trackpad options, to choose Apple Button > System Preferences > Trackpad, and work from there. The company behind the Mac operating system then goes to offer some useful keyboard and trackpad tips and shortcuts, info on application-specific gestures and video tutorials on how to use them.

Soon after releasing its new family of notebooks last year, Apple started receiving complaints about the laptops' inability to register clicks at times. The issue proved to be widespread, prompting Apple to release what it called a “MacBook, MacBook Pro Trackpad Firmware Update 1.0.”

The firmware update addressed “an issue where trackpad clicks may not be recognized on MacBook (Late 2008) and MacBook Pro (Late 2008) systems,” Apple said. The update package would install an updater application into the Applications/Utilities folder, launching it automatically.

Visit Apple here to learn everything you need to know on how to use your unibody MacBook's trackpad.