Using the mouse

Using the mouse

Use the mouse to point to and move objects on the screen. The mouse buttons are used to tell your computer what you want to do with those objects. The mouse often contains three buttons, designated as mouse button 1, mouse button 2, and mouse button 3. The order of these mouse buttons depends on whether your mouse is configured for left or right-handed use, as shown. For information on configuring your mouse, see the Graphical Environment Guide .

Mouse buttons

NOTE: If you have a two-button mouse, pressing both mouse buttons at the same time (known as chording) is equivalent to pressing mouse button 2 on a three-button mouse.

There are three ways to use the mouse for communicating with your computer:

Click: on an icon to select it. You click a mouse button by briefly pressing and releasing it. Click on a different part of the Desktop to deselect the icon, or make it inactive.
Double-click: on an icon to activate it. For example, double-clicking on the Mail icon opens the Mail window, so that you can send mail messages and view your messages. Click twice in rapid succession to double-click.
Drag: an object by pointing to it, then holding down a mouse button while moving the mouse. Releasing the button drops the object in the new location and results in any relevant action. For example, dragging an icon and dropping it on a new location within a desktop window simply changes the layout, while dropping a file onto the Printer icon causes that file to be printed.

Depending on the task you are performing, the mouse pointer changes its shape. Each type of pointer provides information about what you can do at this time. An hourglass shape, for example, tells you that the computer is performing your instructions, and you must wait until it is finished.