3 Simple Ways to Right-Click on a Chromebook, Plus Troubleshooting Tips

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Learn how to right-click on Chromebook with your touchpad, keyboard, or touchscreen

Co-authored by Megaera Lorenz, PhD

Last Updated: July 25, 2023 Fact Checked

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Tapping with Two Fingers

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Using the Alt Key

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Using Touch and Hold (Touchscreen Only)

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Troubleshooting

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Tips

Since Chromebook touchpads don’t have left and right buttons, you might be scratching your head about how to right-click with one. Not to worry—this basic operation is easy to do on a Chromebook as long as you have the correct settings enabled. In this article, we’ll describe three different ways to right-click on a Chromebook, as well as some troubleshooting tips to try if these methods don’t work for you.

Things You Should Know

The easiest way to right-click on a Chromebook is to tap the touchpad with two fingers at once.
You can also hold down the Alt key and click the touchpad at the same time to right-click.
If you have a touchscreen, tap and hold the item you want to right-click on the screen.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Tapping with Two Fingers

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1
Make sure tap-to-click is enabled. The tap-to-click setting allows you to click or right-click by tapping or pressing the touchpad on your Chromebook. This setting is usually enabled by default, but if it’s not, here’s how to turn it on:
- Click on the status bar in the lower right corner of the screen (where the time is displayed), then click the
  
  Settings icon.
- Select Device in the left menu pane, then click Touchpad .
- Make sure the slider next to Enable tap-to-click is set to the On position (
  
  ).
Move your finger across the touchpad to move the cursor.

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Once your cursor is in the right place, tap the touchpad with two fingers at the same time. This will right-click the item under your cursor. ^{[1]
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Research source}

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Using the Alt Key

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The Alt-click method involves tapping with one finger while pressing the Alt key. To get started, drag your finger across the touchpad to move the cursor to the location where you want to right-click. ^{[2]
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Research source}
It’s located to the left of the spacebar.
While still holding down the Alt key, tap or click the lower part of your touchpad with one finger. This will right-click whatever your cursor is pointed at.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Using Touch and Hold (Touchscreen Only)

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1
Try this method if your Chromebook has a touchscreen. If you’re using a touchscreen model, you can right-click without using the trackpad. Several recent models of Chromebook have touchscreen functionality, including the HP Elite Dragonfly, the Lenovo 300E, and the Acer Chromebook 317.
- If you’re pretty sure your model has touchscreen but it’s not working, you might have accidentally turned it off . To turn it back on, try pressing the key combination Ctrl + Shift + Search (
  
  ).
Position your finger over the area you want to right-click on your Chromebook’s screen.
Touch the item on the screen and hold your finger in place to open the right-click menu. Quickly tap and release the item instead to do a regular click.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Troubleshooting

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Clean your touchpad or screen . If you’re having trouble right-clicking even with the correct settings enabled, the problem could be dust or grime on your touchpad or touchscreen. Use a dry microfiber cloth to remove dust, and clean away set-in grime with a sponge or soft cloth very lightly moistened with distilled water.
2
Press the Esc key several times. This can sometimes fix stubborn touchpad issues. ^{[3]
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Research source}
- Another method you can try is drumming your fingers on the touchpad for 10 seconds.
3
Restart or reset your Chromebook. If your Chromebook’s touchpad or touchscreen is being really glitchy, a simple restart may get it working again. If that doesn’t work, you might need to take more serious measures, such as resetting your Chromebook’s hardware. For most Chromebooks, this is how you do a hard reset: ^{[4]
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Research source}
- Shut down your Chromebook.
- Press and hold the
  
  Refresh key, then press the
  
  Power button.
- Release the
  
  Refresh key when your Chromebook starts up.
4
Delete and re-add the account with the touchpad issues. If you have multiple accounts on your Chromebook, sometimes the settings can get messed up for a specific account. Try deleting the account that has the touchpad or touchscreen issues, then re-adding it. To do this: ^{[5]
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Research source}
- Click the status area in the bottom right corner of the screen and select
  
  Settings .
- Select Accounts in the left menu pane.
- Select the Google account you want to delete.
- Click the ⋮ button next to the account name and select Remove this account .
- To re-add the account, go back into the Accounts menu and select Add Google Account . Follow the instructions on the screen.