Once your Catsights display is running on a Mac, the good part starts: the touch gestures. They're built around the trackpad gestures you already know, so most of them feel familiar right away. Here's the whole set, from the basics to a couple of tips that make daily use much nicer.
Before you start: the app and both permissions
On Mac, gestures need two things working together: the Catsights app running in the background, and both of its permissions enabled. If you set it up already, you're all set. But if gestures ever feel dead, this is the first place to check — open System Settings → Privacy & Security and make sure Catsights is switched on under both Accessibility and Input Monitoring.
The one-finger basics
One finger covers most of your everyday clicking and scrolling:
- Tap — click.
- Double-tap — open a file or launch an app.
- Swipe — flip pages or scroll through a list.
- Press and hold for about 200ms, then slide — drag and drop.
That last one trips a few people up at first, because dragging asks for a tiny pause before you move. It's deliberate — it keeps you from dragging things by accident while you scroll.
Two, four, and five fingers
Two fingers get you navigation and shortcuts:
- Swipe — move between pages.
- Pinch — zoom in and out.
- Tap — right-click.
Four fingers:
- Swipe up — tile windows, or open Mission Control.
Five fingers:
- Grab or pinch — open Launchpad.
A simple way to remember the map: one finger is your mouse, two fingers navigate, and four or five get you to the big system views.
Choose your drag mode
Dragging works one of two ways, and it's worth picking the one you like. The default is press-and-hold first, then slide — it's precise and prevents accidental drags, but it takes a beat. If that pause bugs you, switch to default drag mode in the Catsights app. Then one-finger slide drags immediately, and page-turning moves to a two-finger swipe. It's a small setting, but it's often the difference between "this feels natural" and "why won't this drag."
Quick tip: the OSD menu
Brightness and other live settings live in the OSD menu, and you don't need a keyboard to reach it. Swipe up with two fingers from the bottom edge of the screen — within about 1.5 cm of the edge. Do it once and it becomes second nature.
When gestures stop working
Gestures acting up? Work through these in order:
- Check the permissions — a toggle can get switched off without you noticing. Re-enable Catsights under Accessibility and Input Monitoring, then restart the app.
- Think about macOS updates — an update can silently reset the app's permissions. Re-add them and restart, and you're usually back in business.
- Reconnect the cable — a loose USB-C connection can drop touch even while video looks fine. Unplug, plug back in, and give it a second.
And one note for the Windows crowd: none of this applies. Windows 10 and 11 have touch drivers built in, so the display is plug-and-play there — no app, no permissions, no fuss.
That's the full picture. Put your fingers on the screen, pick a drag mode that feels right, and go.