# Glide for Mac (beta): Your trackpad's edges, turned into controls.

> Glide turns your Mac trackpad's edges into brightness, volume and media controls, and its corners into buttons: mute, lock, a privacy guard, apps and Shortcuts.

Brightness and volume live on the function keys, which means looking down, finding the right key and tapping it eight times. On an external keyboard they might not work at all, and on a second monitor they never did.

Glide puts them under your finger. The trackpad's left and right edges become sliders, the bottom edge scrubs whatever is playing, and all four corners are buttons you set yourself. The middle of the trackpad moves the pointer the same as ever, so nothing you already do changes.

## What you get

- **Brightness on the left edge.** Slide up or down along the left edge. Each step is the real brightness key, so you get the Mac's own on-screen display, and ⇧⌥ gives quarter steps.
- **Volume on the right.** The right edge works the same way for volume, with the same on-screen display and the same quarter steps.
- **The monitor you're on.** With the pointer on an external display, the left edge sets that monitor's brightness over its cable, and the notch shows the level. Sound going to a monitor's speakers is set there too.
- **Seek along the bottom.** While something plays, in Music, Spotify or a browser tab, slide along the bottom edge to scrub through it. A slim bar shows where you are.
- **Quick mute.** Double-tap the top-left corner to mute. Double-tap it again to unmute.
- **Draw to open apps.** Double-tap the top-right corner, then draw a shape. A W can open WhatsApp, a circle Calculator, or any shape a Shortcut. The notch shows what matched. Experimental.
- **Privacy guard.** Someone walks in? Double-tap the bottom-right corner. The apps you've marked private disappear, a work app of your choice comes to the front, and music pauses. Double-tap again and everything comes back exactly as it was.
- **Lock in a tap.** Double-tap the bottom-left corner to lock your Mac straight away, the same as ⌃⌘Q, without reaching for the keyboard.

## How it works

1. Open ctrlhq Settings › Glide and switch on “Trackpad edges control the Mac”.
2. Allow Accessibility access when asked.
3. Click Open Glide to watch your touches live, set what each corner does, choose your private apps and add gestures.

## Made to stay out of your way

1. **The pointer stays put.** Sliding along an edge freezes the pointer, so turning the volume up doesn't drag your cursor across the screen.
2. **Only fingers that land on an edge.** A finger that slides into the edge from the middle is still moving the pointer. Head back into the middle and Glide lets go.
3. **Your width.** Narrow, normal or wide edges, to suit how you hold your hands.
4. **Every corner is yours.** Each corner can mute, start a gesture, guard your privacy, lock the Mac, open an app or run a Shortcut. Change any of them in Glide's window.
5. **See it live.** Glide's window draws your trackpad and shows every touch as you make it, so you can learn the edges in a minute.

## FAQ

### How do I change the volume with the trackpad on a Mac?

Turn on Glide in ctrlhq, then slide one finger up or down along the right edge of your trackpad. Each step changes the volume the same as the volume keys, with the usual on-screen display.

### Can I change brightness from the trackpad?

Yes. Slide along the left edge. On your MacBook's screen it uses the brightness keys; on an external monitor under the pointer, ctrlhq sets that monitor directly.

### Does it work with a Magic Trackpad?

Yes, with the built-in trackpad and with Magic Trackpads.

### Will it get in the way of normal use?

Only fingers that land right on an edge or corner do anything, and moving into the middle hands control back to the pointer. Clicking, scrolling and multi-finger gestures are untouched.

### How do gestures work?

Add a gesture in Glide's window and draw it once. To use it, double-tap the top-right corner and draw the shape anywhere on the trackpad. It doesn't matter how big or where you draw it, but direction counts: a clockwise and an anticlockwise circle are different gestures.

### Why does it need Accessibility access?

To send the brightness and volume keys and to hold the pointer still while you slide. Your touches are read on your Mac and never stored or sent anywhere.

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Part of ctrlhq, the productivity app in your Mac's notch: $24.99 once (launch price, regular $29), no subscription. Native, about 17 MB. Download: https://ctrlhq.app/download · All features: https://ctrlhq.app/features