MacOS – How to scroll using an external USB trackpad that is not a magic-mouse

macbook promacostrackpad

In some cramped situations I would prefer to not use the macBook pro internal trackpad but rather an external one as shown

enter image description here

The right/left clicks and the trackpad area do work fine for traversing the screen and clicking. But then how to scroll the current application window? On the internal trackpad that would be done by two fingers on the trackpad.

The Settings | Trackpad only applies to the internal trackpad of the macBook pro. There is also an "Configure bluetooth Trackpad" : but this is a usb.

Is this possible? I do not want to use a bluetooth because I have bad issues with the bluetooth freezing the macOS.

I have a 2020 macBook pro 16" and am on Catalina.

Best Answer

Looking at the picture of your trackpad it looks that scrolling is done by sliding the finger around the right border of the pad. Have you checked whether this works? Not sure if it supports multitouch, which would be required for the "apple gestures".

There's two Apps I would consider checking out.

  • Better Touch Tool (paid) - which allows to customize touch gestures in great detail and even add your own. But AFAIK only works on Apple devices. Still worth a try.

  • Karabiner Elements (free) - which allows to create very complex mappings, but it is complex to operate. You can easily create mappings where mouse movent is turned into scrolling while a key is held down. There is a Guide for hackintoshes which may help.

Related Question