Alternative to multitouch in Mavericks

Question

I am using OSX Mavericks on latest Mackbook Pro Retina. After a week of intensive usage I have got some pain in my fingers because of the multi-fingers scrolling (two to scroll pages, three to switch between screens).

How can I scroll in applications without using 2 fingers-scroll? I know I can press 'Fn+Up/Down' in web-browsers, but how to scroll in Finder, Terminal, etc.? Is there also any way to switch between virtual screens without using three-fingers?

PS: when scrolling using multi-touch, one has to keep 2 fingers floating over the surface of the trackpad - this after some time leads to the pain. On iPad it doesn't happen because its position is usually not vertical (when you keep it in another hand).

Answer 1

You can switch between screens using the Ctrl+Right/Left Arrow shortcuts (by default, this can be of course modified in the Keyboard Shortcuts settings).

You can scroll in the terminal using Shift+PgUp/PgDn keys. On MacBooks you will need to press Shift+Fn+Up/Down Arrow.

Fn+Up/Down also works in Finder.

Answer 2

In some programs (e.g. Safari) you can use Alt+Up/Down to scroll up and down. I find it more convenient since it only requires one hand.

In Finder this shortcut seems to jump from top to bottom.

Answer 3

I had similar issues and found Apple's magic mouse helped a lot. You can still use almost all of Maverick's gestures but I find its much easier and more comfortable. Try it out. If it doesn't help you can return it for a refund. (check Apple's return policies in your area)