TL;DR. Default: swipe sideways with three fingers. The strip follows, then focuses the column you land on. Turn off macOS “Swipe between full-screen apps” and Three Finger Drag so Ribbon can see the gesture. Option + two fingers remains a backup. Four-finger swipe is optional in Settings → Gestures.
Why three fingers
Ribbon’s strip is meant to feel like a paper row under your fingers. Three-finger horizontal swipe matches that model. macOS also wants those fingers for Spaces and dragging, so Mac Setup warns when those system gestures are still on.
Try it
- Grant Accessibility and leave Stage Manager off.
- In Settings → Gestures, leave Finger swipe on 3 (default).
- In System Settings → Trackpad, turn off “Swipe between full-screen apps” (or set it to four fingers if you keep Ribbon on three).
- Turn off Three Finger Drag if it is on (Accessibility → Pointer Control → Trackpad Options).
- Swipe sideways with three fingers on the trackpad.
Backup: Option + two fingers
If you need macOS to keep three-finger Spaces swipes, set Finger swipe to Off. Then hold ⌥ and swipe with two fingers. The same strip follow + settle behavior applies.