How to Right-Click on Chromebook

Copy, paste, and more on Chrome OS

By
Scott Orgera
Scott Orgera
Writer
Scott Orgera is a former writer who covering tech since 2007. He has 25+ years experience as a programmer and QA leader, and holds several Microsoft certifications.
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Scott Orgera
Updated February 11, 2020

Knowing how to right-click on Chromebook is essential if you want to copy and paste text or access hidden menus. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to right-click using the Chromebook touchpad, the keyboard, or an external mouse.

Instructions in this article apply to laptops running Chrome OS.

How to Right-click on the Chromebook Touchpad

Most Chromebooks have a rectangular touchpad with no extra buttons. Tapping or pressing down anywhere on the touchpad with one finger will result in a left-click. To perform a right-click, hover your cursor over the item that you wish to select and tap the touchpad using two fingers.

If you have an external mouse connected to your Chromebook, you should be able to use the right-click button.

Tap the touchpad with two fingers to right-click on Chromebook.
Lifewire / Scott Orgera

How to Right Click With the Chromebook Keyboard

You can also right-click using the touchpad in combination with the keyboard. Hover your cursor over the item that you want to right-click, then hold down the Alt key and tap the touchpad with one finger.

Hold down the Alt key and tap the touchpad with one finger. to right-click on Chromebook.
Lifewire / Scott Orgera

Right-Clicking on Chromebook

Right-clicking can serve a number of purposes that vary depending on the application. Often, right-clicking an object displays a context menu that presents options not always offered in other areas of the program. For example, right-clicking within web browser will display options to print the active page or view its the source code among others.

There are a few Chromebook extensions, such as CrxMouse Chrome Gestures, that add advanced touchpad functionality to Google Chrome.

How to Copy and Paste on Chromebook

Copying and pasting on Chromebook is very similar to Windows and macOS. To copy text, highlight the desired characters, then right-click and select Copy from the context menu.

You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + C to copy highlighted text or files. To copy an image, right-click it and select Copy image.

To copy text, highlight the desired characters, then right-click and select Copy from the context menu.

To paste an item from the clipboard, right-click on the destination and select Paste, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + V.

If you are copying specially formatted text, use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + V to maintain its original formatting when pasting.

To paste an item from the clipboard, right-click on the destination and select Paste.

How to Disable Tap-to-Click Functionality

Chromebook users who prefer an external mouse may want to disable tap-to-click functionality altogether to avoid accidental clicking while typing. To turn off tap-to-click:

  1. Select the Chrome OS taskbar in the bottom-right corner of your screen and select the Settings gear.

    Select the Chrome OS taskbar in the bottom-right corner of your screen and select the Settings gear.

  2. Select Device in the left pane, then select Touchpad.

    Select Device in the left pane, then select Touchpad.

  3. Select Enable tap-to-click to toggle the tap-to-click feature on and off.

Changes will take effect immediately, so you must press down on the touchpad to turn tap-to-click back on.

Select Enable tap-to-click to toggle the tap-to-click feature on and off.