Steam Deck: How to Right-Click in Desktop Mode (2024)

Steam Deck revolutionized the gaming industry with its powerful hardware and portable design. This handheld device allows you to take your Steam library with you wherever you go. However, the Steam Deck can be used not only as a portable game console, but also as a full-fledged desktop computer . One of the many challenges users face when interacting with Steam Deck’s desktop mode, especially right-clicking. Right-clicking on the desktop is important because it allows users to easily copy and paste files, rename files, check properties, and more. Therefore, this time I will explain how to right-click on the Steam deck in desktop mode. So let’s dive in!

Steam Deck Desktop Mode Mouse Controls

The Steam Deck comes with all the essential input controls you need for your game, including a joystick, D-pad, triggers, and face buttons. Unfortunately, there are no dedicated buttons to aid your PC browsing experience in desktop mode. However, Valve has incorporated the Steam Controller trackpad into the Steam Deck to help control mouse cursor and scrolling. But what about mouse clicks?

For those who don’t know, Steam Deck runs on a fork of Arch Linux and functions like any other desktop OS, but with some additional features. Therefore, after switching to desktop mode, you can use the trackpad and trigger buttons to perform functions such as moving the cursor and left- or right-clicking. Additionally, users can also install flatpacks and apps to Steam Deck in a variety of ways.

How to right-click in Steam desktop mode

As mentioned earlier, in desktop mode you can control the mouse pointer using the right joystick and two trackpads. However, the trackpad only allows browsing , with the left trackpad for scrolling and the right trackpad for controlling the mouse. Similarly, the right joystick gives you the option to control the mouse.

If you want to right-click at any time in Steam Deck’s desktop mode, you must use the L2 left trigger . For example, if you want to open a context menu on your desktop, you must first navigate to the space you opened using the right trackpad. Then press the L2 left trigger. Steam Deck detects this input as a right click. Once done, press the R2 right trigger to perform a left click on the desktop .

However, this was not the case before. After the new update, Valve has changed the controls to allow users to experience a seamless experience in desktop mode. They wanted to allow players to use desktop mode without using a physical keyboard or mouse. Previously, users had to press two trackpads for left-click and right-click.

Change Steam Deck left-click and right-click controls

The default keybindings for the left and right triggers are determined by Valve, but you will be given the option to rebind the controls to the desired buttons. To change the default key bindings for left-click and right-click, follow these steps:

• First, open desktop mode in your Steam deck. Next, open Steam using the icon on your desktop.

• Next, click on “ Steam ” in the top left corner and select “ Settings ” from the drop-down menu.

• In the settings popup, go to “ Controller ” in the left sidebar and select the “Desktop Configuration” option in the right pane.

• The Desktop Configuration settings page allows you to remap the functions each button and trigger performs in Steam Deck’s desktop mode. Here you can rebind left and right clicks to the desired buttons.

The best part about Steam Deck is that Valve allows users to tinker with the system and create custom layouts that are easy to use.

In conclusion, you can now easily interact with Steam Deck’s desktop mode using left-click and right-click whenever you need to. Valve has made things simple, allowing you to take full advantage of the Steam Deck’s powerful hardware. In addition to mouse controls, you can also easily launch the keyboard in Steam Deck desktop mode . Follow the linked guide for more information. Do you use Steam Deck’s desktop mode for important work anyway? Let us know in the comments below.