Touch gestures in Windows enable various actions by using your fingers to perform specific movements. The type of gesture used and the number of fingers used triggers specific actions. Touch gestures can be used either on a touchscreen or on a touchpad.
Select the desired touch gesture topic from the following list:
Before attempting to use touch gestures on a touchscreen, verify that touch gestures are turned on:
-
On the Windows device, right-click on the Start menu and then select Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touch. Or Select the following Bluetooth & devices > Touch shortcut:Open Bluetooth & devices > Touch
-
In the Bluetooth & devices > Touch window:
-
Make sure Three and four-finger touch gestures is switched On.
Note:Â When touch gestures are enabled, three- and four-finger interactions in some apps might not work. To continue using these interactions in those apps, turn off this setting.
-
Expand Touch screen edge gestures by selecting it. Make sure Swipe from the left edge of the screen and Swipe from the right edge of the screen are both switched On.
-
The following table lists the available touch gestures:
|
Action |
Gestures |
|---|---|
|
Select an item |
Tap the screen. |
|
Scroll |
Place two fingers on the screen and slide horizontally or vertically. |
|
Zoom in or out |
Place two fingers on the screen and pinch in or stretch out. |
|
Show more commands (like right-clicking) |
Press and hold the item. |
|
Show all open windows |
Swipe with three fingers up on the screen. |
|
Show the desktop |
Swipe with three fingers down on the screen. |
|
Switch to the last open app |
Swipe with three fingers to the left or right on the screen. |
|
Open notification center |
Swipe with one finger in from the right edge of the screen. |
|
See widgets |
Swipe with one finger in from the left edge of screen. |
|
Switch desktops |
Swipe with four fingers to the left or right on the screen. |
The following table lists the available touchpad gestures:
|
Action |
Gestures |
|---|---|
|
Select an item |
Tap touchpad. |
|
Scroll |
Place two fingers on the touchpad and slide horizontally or vertically. |
|
Zoom in or out |
Place two fingers on the touchpad and pinch in or stretch out. |
|
Show more commands (like right-click) |
Tap the touchpad with two fingers or press down in the lower-right corner. |
|
Show all open windows |
Swipe with three fingers up on the touchpad. |
|
Show the desktop |
Swipe with three fingers down on the touchpad. |
|
Switch between open apps or windows |
Swipe with three fingers left or right on the touchpad. |
|
Switch desktops |
Swipe with four fingers to the left or right on the touchpad. |
Important:Â Some of these touchpad gestures only work with precision touchpads.
The three-finger and four-finger touchpad gestures can be changed to perform an action different from the default action. To change the default action for each gesture:
-
On the Windows device, right-click on the Start menu and then select Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad. Or Select the following Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad shortcut:Open Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad
-
In the Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad window, select the Three-finger gestures and Four-finger gestures sections to expand them.
-
To customize the gesture action, use the drop-down menus in each section.
Support for Windows 10 will end in October 2025
After October 14, 2025, Microsoft will no longer provide free software updates from Windows Update, technical assistance, or security fixes for Windows 10. Your PC will still work, but we recommend moving to Windows 11.
The following table lists the available touch gestures:
|
Action |
Gestures |
|---|---|
|
Select an item |
Tap the screen. |
|
Scroll |
Place two fingers on the screen and slide horizontally or vertically. |
|
Zoom in or out |
Place two fingers on the screen and pinch in or stretch out. |
|
Show more commands (like right-clicking) |
Press and hold the item. |
|
Open action center |
Swipe with one finger in from the right edge of the screen. |
|
Show all open windows |
Swipe with one finger in from the left edge of screen. |
The following table lists the available touchpad gestures:
|
Action |
Gestures |
|---|---|
|
Select an item |
Tap on the touchpad. |
|
Scroll |
Place two fingers on the touchpad and slide horizontally or vertically. |
|
Zoom in or out |
Place two fingers on the touchpad and pinch in or stretch out. |
|
Show more commands (like right-click) |
Tap the touchpad with two fingers or press in the lower-right corner. |
|
See all open windows |
Swipe with three fingers up on the touchpad. |
|
Show the desktop |
Swipe with three fingers down on the touchpad. |
|
Switch between open apps or windows |
Swipe with three fingers left or right on the touchpad. |
|
Open Cortana |
Tap three fingers on the touchpad. |
|
Open action center |
Tap four fingers on the touchpad. |
|
Switch desktops |
Swipe with four fingers to the left or right on the touchpad. |
Important
Some of these touchpad gestures only work with precision touchpads. To find out if a Windows device has a precision touchpad:
-
On the Windows device, right-click on the Start menu and then select Settings > Devices > Touchpad. Or Select the following Touchpad shortcut:Open Touchpad
-
In the Touchpad window, the following message appears at the top of the window if the Windows device has a precision touchpad:Your PC has a precision touchpad.
The three-finger and four-finger touchpad gestures can be changed to perform an action different from the default action. To change the default action for each gesture:
-
On the Windows device, right-click on the Start menu and then select Settings > Devices > Touchpad. Or Select the following Touchpad shortcut:Open Touchpad
-
In the Touchpad window, use the drop-down menus in the Three-finger gestures and Four-finger gestures sections to customize the gesture action.
