Most Chromebook owners use their trackpad for exactly two things: moving the cursor and scrolling. That’s leaving a lot on the table. ChromeOS packs a handful of three and four-finger gestures that handle tasks you’re probably still doing the slow way, no settings to turn on, no software to install. Here are seven worth building into muscle memory.
1. Open Any Link in a New Tab
Point your cursor at any link and click the trackpad with three fingers at once. It opens instantly in a new tab, the same result as holding Ctrl and clicking, but without taking a hand off the trackpad.
2. Close Any Tab Instantly
Point your cursor anywhere on an open tab, not just the little X, and do that same three-finger click. The tab closes immediately. This is especially handy when you’ve got a dozen tabs open and the X buttons have shrunk down to almost nothing.
3. Scrub Through Open Tabs
Place three fingers on the trackpad and slide left or right. Your open tabs scrub past in real time as you move your fingers, and you let go on whichever one you land on. It’s faster than clicking each tab individually or repeatedly pressing Ctrl + Tab.
4. Jump to Overview Mode
Swipe three fingers up to instantly open Overview mode, showing every open window and Virtual Desk at once. Swipe three fingers back down to close it. There’s a dedicated keyboard key for this too, but the trackpad swipe is faster once it’s a habit.
5. Open an Entire Bookmarks Folder at Once
This is the one almost nobody knows about. If you keep a folder of bookmarks, like a set of sites you check every morning, point your cursor at that folder and three-finger click it. Every bookmark inside opens in its own tab simultaneously. It turns a folder of ten saved sites into a one-click morning routine.
6. Switch Between Virtual Desks
If you use Virtual Desks to separate work from personal browsing, swipe four fingers left or right to flip between them instantly, no need to open Overview mode first and click through manually.
7. Go Back or Forward in Your Browsing History
Swipe two fingers left or right anywhere on a webpage that isn’t actively scrolling horizontally, and you’ll move back or forward through your browsing history, the same as clicking the back and forward arrows next to the address bar.
Good to Know
- None of these gestures need to be turned on. They work out of the box on every Chromebook.
- If tap-to-click is enabled, in Settings > Device > Touchpad, you can substitute a three-finger tap for a three-finger click in every trick above.
- A two-finger click anywhere on the trackpad works as a right-click, useful to know if you’re new to Chromebooks and wondering where the right mouse button went.
- If your trackpad ever stops responding to gestures, try drumming all your fingers on the surface for about ten seconds. It sounds odd, but it’s Google’s own suggested first fix.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do these tricks work with an external mouse instead of the trackpad?
The three-finger click tricks have a mouse equivalent, clicking the scroll wheel does the same thing as a three-finger click on most of these.
Do I need to enable anything in Settings first?
No. Every gesture here works immediately with no setup. Only tap-to-click, if you want to substitute taps for physical clicks, needs to be turned on first.
Does the bookmarks folder trick work with nested subfolders?
It opens every bookmark and link sitting directly inside the folder you click. Keep your most-used sites in one flat folder for the cleanest result.
Why isn’t a gesture working on my Chromebook?
A few Android apps don’t support trackpad gestures the same way Chrome and web apps do, since gestures are primarily built for the browser and ChromeOS interface itself.
Most people use a fraction of what a Chromebook trackpad can actually do. Once a few of these become automatic, especially the new-tab click and the bookmarks folder trick, going back to a regular touchpad on another laptop feels noticeably slower.
Leave a Reply