Apple - How to select text with touchpad without pressing the "hard" key?

The settings location where the three finger "drag" is enabled has changed over time.

From OS X 10.11 "El Capitan" to macOS 10.14 "Mojave":

1. Go to System Preferences > Accessibility
2. Choose Mouse & Trackpad from the left options list
3. Click Trackpad Options
4. Tick "Enable dragging" and select “three finger drag” from the drop-down menu next to it

For macOS 10.15 "Catalina" and later:

1. Go to System Preferences > Accessibility
2. Choose Pointer Control
3. On the Mouse & Trackpad tab, click Trackpad Options
4. Tick "Enable dragging" and select “three finger drag” from the drop-down menu next to it

Had this issue with new Macbook Air (latest one late 2015) and old trackpad that suddenly required a hard click and drag, simultaneously, to copy large amounts. Found that above directions with modest variation works perfectly as:

1. Go to System Preferences > Accessibility
2. Choose Mouse & Trackpad from the left options list
3. Click Trackpad Options Step #4 also works as:
4. Tick "enable dragging" and select "without drag lock" from the drop-down menu next to it

This was how my trackpad always worked before I migrated to the new computer, and it is easier on fingers. 1 finger, no hard pressure.

Go to system preferences > Trackpad Trackpad > Point and Click Tap Point and Click > Check "Tap to Click"

This will give you the behavior your want.

The are two methods for selecting text with tap to click enabled; the first is simplest to setup by just checking tap to click as outlined above; the second is my favorite setup but requires one more tweak in system preferences; the second will likely be your favorite too because you don't need to complete the selection in a single slide)

1. To select text (with drag-lock set to OFF in accessibility - the default): Tap & Slide (Finger Contact, Finger Lift, Finger Contact, Finger Slide, Finger Lift (The selection extent is finalized with the finger lift)

2. To select text (with drag-lock set to ON in accessibility): Tap & Slide & Tap (Finger Contact, Finger Lift, Finger Contact, Finger Slide, Finger Lift, Finger Contact, Finger Lift (The selection extent can be adjusted with multiple finger slides; the selected extent is finalized with the final finger tap)

To turn on Drag-Lock for the Trackpad: Go to system preferences > Accessibility Accessibility > Mouse & Trackpad Mouse & Trackpad > Trackpad Options Trackpad Options > Select "Enable Dragging"; Select "with Drag-Lock"

Cheers!