This page covers the use of Mouse. When you use windows the mouse is the primary device by which you communicate to the computer. You should make sure your mouse is in good condition and tracking correctly, and that the area around your mouse is free of obstructions.
Point is the most basic operation that you can do with a mouse. The mouse has a little ball underneath it. As you move the mouse the ball rolls. The computer detects the motion of the ball and moves the arrow (cursor) as you move your mouse. Since the movement of the mouse and the cursor correspond, when you are instructed to move you mouse you are really being instructed to move the mouse cursor by moving the mouse. To point to something on the screen you move the mouse until the tip of the arrow is on top of it.
Click with a mouse means to point to something and then depress and release the left mouse button without moving the mouse during the operation. When you perform this operation a clicking sound will be heard and hence the name of the operation is click. Exactly what happens when you click on something depends on what you have clicked on. In general a click simply indicates a selection you are making. What happens next depends on the selection you have made.
Right click is the same as a Click except it is done with the right mouse button. This operation is used for special types of selections. Most usually it is used if you want to perform a special operation at a point or on an object, and a menu will appear giving you choices.
Drag with a mouse means to depress the left mouse button, move the mouse while the button is depressed, and then release the mouse button after the mouse has moved to a new location. The drag operation is typically used to indicate that you would like to move something from one place to another.
Right drag is the same as a Drag except it is done with the right mouse button. This operation is usually used when you want to copy something from one location to another. Right Drag is not used at all in INTERFACE™ itself.
Double click with a mouse means to point to something and then depress and release and depress again and release again the left mouse button in reasonably quick succession, without moving the mouse during the operation. This is a tricky operation and it takes practice to get the feel of it. It is easy for the computer to misinterpret your double click as two single clicks or a click and a drag if you move the mouse even slightly during the operation. If this occurs, try again. It helps if you hold the mouse firmly and rest the palm of your hand on the desk. This gives you better control over the movement of the mouse.
Control Click with a mouse means to click while holding down the ctrl key. In INTERFACE™ a ctrl+click is used to tag various items in a list.
Shift Click with a mouse means to click while holding down the shift key. In INTERFACE™ a shift+click is used to tag a block of items in a list.
Cursors is the name given to the mouse pointer you see on the screen. The usual cursor is an arrow pointing upward and to the left. Sometimes the cursor changes from an arrow to something else, if the expected purpose of the mouse at that point on the screen changes from normal pointing and clicking to make a selection, to some different purpose. The normal types of cursors you will see are:
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Normal Select - Arrow |
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Working in Background |
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Busy - Hourglass |
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Text Select |
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Not Available |
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| Vertical Resize - Crosshair |
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| Horizontal Resize - Crosshair |
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| Move |