Applies ToExcel for Microsoft 365 for Mac Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 for Mac

Rather than drawing ink with your mouse, you can draw on your trackpad with your finger.

This is a subscriber-only feature This feature is available only to Microsoft 365 Subscribers for Windows desktop clients.

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 This feature requires Office for Mac 16.22.19021100. It works in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel and requires a trackpad to be present—either a built-in trackpad like on a MacBook or a connected trackpad like the Apple Magic Trackpad. 

  1. On the Draw tab of the ribbon, switch the Draw with Trackpad option to On

    A drawing window appears onscreen.

    Note: In Excel, if you're using Freeze Panes to lock specific rows and columns in place, you won't be able to turn on Draw with Trackpad.

  2. Use two fingers to move the drawing window.

  3. Use one finger to draw on the trackpad. You don't need to press down to immediately start drawing.

  4. For greater location precision, press the Command key command button for Apple computers:

    A large circle appears onscreen tracking the location of your finger on the trackpad. Move your fingertip to the location where you want to start. Pause when you are ready to draw. After the circle shrinks to the size of a dot, start drawing.

  5. Press any key to turn off precision-draw mode.

Draw and write with ink in Office

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