Enable bottom-right corner click = right-click on MacBook trackpads (bcm5974 driver)

[thomasfederico-fullstack-designer]

Hi team,

I've been trying to achieve right-click functionality via bottom-right corner tap on a MacBook trackpad using Linux Mint 22.1 Xia (Cinnamon desktop, bcm5974 driver). Unfortunately, even after exploring libinput, xinput, Xorg configs, and custom scripts, I couldn't enable this behavior.

Many modern desktops (especially Windows/macOS) interpret a bottom-right press as a right-click on clickpads. It’s a familiar, intuitive gesture — but on Linux Mint, this isn't possible due to limitations with the bcm5974 driver and/or Cinnamon's desktop input handling.

I tried:

• Forcing ClickMethod to buttonareas in Xorg config
• Using xdotool and systemd daemons to simulate right-clicks with Ctrl+click
• Even simulating Shift+F10 and Menu keypresses — none of which work consistently on the desktop background

As it stands, only two-finger tap reliably opens the context menu. While that’s functional, it’s not ideal for users expecting traditional corner-press behavior.

Would it be possible to support this more natively in Cinnamon or offer better integration with Apple trackpads (via libinput or otherwise)? A small UX detail, but it means a lot for users trying to use Linux Mint on Mac hardware without workarounds.

Thanks for the amazing work — Mint’s been fantastic otherwise.

Best,
A very determined user

[billyswong]

Here's what I see in LM 22.1 Cinnamon