USING THE MOUSE

USING THE MOUSE

Within all Windows applications, the mouse is used for accessing the menu system, scrolling, positioning the cursor/insertion bar and selecting blocks of text/data.

Below is a list of how the mouse buttons are typically used:


Button

Action

[RIGHT]

Used to access shortcut menus.



[LEFT]

Used to select menu options or commands by pointing to the command/option and "clicking" (pressing) this button once. To cancel a pull-down menu, click this button away from the menu.

Wheel

If you are using Microsoft’s IntelliMouse, you will notice a rubber wheel between the two buttons. You can roll the Wheel to scroll quickly through long documents.


Basic mouse functions include moving, clicking, dragging and double-clicking, as described below:

Moving Refers to moving the mouse around on the screen. You should be aware, however, that the current typing position within a document (cursor location) does not change until you click the [LEFT] mouse button.

Clicking Refers to pressing the [LEFT] mouse button once. Selects an item from the menu or moves the insertion point if done within an application.

Double-clicking Refers to quickly pressing the [LEFT] button twice. Acts as the E key while within menus. It is also used in selecting text in word processors.

Dragging Refers to clicking and holding the [LEFT] button down while moving the mouse. This is used to select text or move objects.