How to select text with touchpad without pressing the "hard" key?
The settings location where the three finger &quot;drag&quot; is enabled has changed over time.
From OS X 10.11 &quot;El Capitan&quot; to macOS 10.14 &quot;Mojave&quot;:

Go to System Preferences &gt; Accessibility
Choose Mouse &amp; Trackpad from the left options list
Click Trackpad Options
Tick &quot;Enable dragging&quot; and select “three finger drag” from the drop-down menu next to it

For macOS 10.15 &quot;Catalina&quot; and later:

Go to System Preferences &gt; Accessibility
Choose Pointer Control
On the Mouse &amp; Trackpad tab, click Trackpad Options
Tick &quot;Enable dragging&quot; and select “three finger drag” from the drop-down menu next to it