How to Disable Trackpad Pinch Scaling for Images in InDesign on MacBook Air M3

[danielruddiforth]

When I select an image inside a box, when I pinch on my trackpad to zoom in or out of the page, it scales the image up or down instead. I have to delsect the image to scale then select the image again. How do I turn this off?

Using Macbook Air M3 with the latest version of inDesign.

<Title renamed by MOD>

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @danielruddiforth,

Thanks for reaching out to the community! I understand how frustrating it can be when something like this disrupts your workflow.

To resolve this, you can try unchecking the "Enable Multi-touch Gestures" option. Here's how you can do that:

1. Go to InDesign > Preferences > Interface.
2. Uncheck "Enable Multi-touch Gestures.

Reference: 

This should prevent the pinch gesture from scaling your image and allow you to zoom in and out without interruption. 

Please let us know if this helps, or if you have any other questions! 

Thank you, 
Abhishek Rao  

[danielruddiforth]

Hi there. Thank you for replying.

I have done this but I now stops me from using the pinch gesture to zoom. I still want to use the pinch gesture to zoom in and out of the page, but turn off the scalling when I have an image selceted.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @danielruddiforth,

I understand the inconvenience you're facing with the pinch gesture scaling images instead of zooming the page. Unfortunately, with the current settings in InDesign, disabling "Enable Multi-touch Gestures" will stop both scaling and zooming. 

A workaround is to temporarily deselect the image when you need to zoom. I understand that this functionality is important to you, and I apologize for its unavailability at this time. Would you mind creating a UserVoice for this feature request (Adobe InDesign (https://adobe.ly/4fGFQWZ)? Doing this will help us prioritize this request, and you will be notified of any updates.

Let me know if there’s anything else I can assist with!

Thank you, 
Abhishek Rao  

[Patric ? ZeStudio]

Been trying to get rid of this inconsistent annoying behaviour for years, I see that's it still not resolve. At least now I know not to look for it until the next release... maybe.

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @Patric334576944kzk,

Thanks for sharing your experience—this sounds frustrating. Are you aware of any UserVoice requests related to this issue? If yes, please share the link here so others can upvote it and help prioritize it.

The pinch-to-zoom feature aligns with macOS's multi-finger touch functionality, so it’s designed to be consistent with how other apps behave. However, there is an option in InDesign preferences to turn off multi-touch gestures, but doing so will disable all multi-gesture functionality, not just the pinch-to-zoom.

I hope this explanation helps, but if it doesn’t address your concern, could you please elaborate on the issue further? Thanks!

Best regards,

Anshul Saini

[danielruddiforth · Accepted solution]

hi there, yes I have added a UserVoice request for this https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601180-adobe-indesign-bugs/suggestions/48751832-pinch-gesture-...

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @danielruddiforth,

Thanks for sharing the UserVoice link! Once it gains more upvotes, it will be flagged for the product team, who will review it for future updates. Please stay tuned for any updates on this issue. Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions or need further assistance!

Best,

Anshul Saini