Mac trackpad gesture tools: BetterTouchTool, Swish & Nums

This article was first published on the LIZHI.SHOP blog (lizhi.io, now offline) on June 28, 2019, and is now republished with appropriate adjustments.

When I'm working away on my computer, people often ask me, "Why don't you use a mouse?"

Indeed, after getting a Mac, I gradually moved away from using a mouse, because the Mac trackpad experience far surpasses that of many laptops.

In "System Preferences > Trackpad," Mac provides new users with 10+ gesture tutorials. Although I'm only used to half of them, people with nimble fingers probably still find them insufficient.

Today, let's unlock more Mac trackpad gestures together and see what other changes these trackpad enhancement tools can bring.

BTT gesture encyclopedia

BetterTouchTool can be called the most comprehensive trackpad extension tool; in fact, it can also enhance keyboard shortcuts, mouse controls, Touch Bar controls, and more.

In the trackpad customization interface, you can see various categories of gestures, and when expanded, there are no fewer than 100 specific actions.

These gestures—just learning them could take a year or so—can perform 15+ types of actions, from controlling applications to window interactions, which is dazzling.

This software offers a 45-day free trial. If you're interested, you can visit the official website to try it out. If you want to learn more about genuine Mac productivity tools, you can also check out the software information in the LIZHI.SHOP software store.

Swish window magic

Compared with windows on Windows, Mac windows have less operability, but Swish brings a more magical touch experience.

Swish uses a block concept. Through the swipe feel in the direction of finger movement, it can close, minimize, and stretch windows, among other functions.

What's even more amazing is that some actions can be done right on icons in the Dock.

Likewise, if you're interested in Swish, you can visit the official website to learn more and try it.

Nums numeric keypad

Nums is an ultra-thin smart keyboard that is only one film thick, fitting seamlessly with the trackpad. This design won the German Red Dot: Best of the Best award.

Just install the Nums app and you can start using the numeric keypad. This is very convenient for those who often need to do calculations.

At the same time, Nums' special material is not only perfectly compatible with native trackpad functions, but also lets you customize other shortcut gestures, such as quickly switching programs.

Of course, just reading the official website introduction makes it hard to objectively evaluate how Nums feels. If you're interested, I'll try the hardware and come back with a further review.