Mouse Commands (summary)

Introduction:
There are three basic mouse operations used the Windows environment:

If you want to practice using the mouse, you can go to the Program Manager's Windows Tutorial. Here are the steps to get to the tutorial:

Reasons for Learning the Different Operations:
Knowing the differences in the mouse operations is critical. A failure to learn these differences can be very aggravating at times when an unexpected action takes place. The computer only does what you command it to do, so clicking the mouse button once or twice is crucial in getting the action you want. Here are some common mistakes beginners make:

  1. Single-clicking an icon and expecting an active window. Single clicking on an icon will bring up a menu, whereas double-clicking will open a window application.

  2. Double-clicking the mouse on the toaster button and expecting the menu to appear. Double clicking the mouse on the toaster button will close the window; a single click will bring up the list of commands.

  3. Single-clicking on a program item will select the item, whereas double clicking will open the program item.

Common Problems to Watch For:

  1. The mouse is very sensitive. It will respond to every little movement you make. A common problem when utilizing the mouse is double-clicking on an object. People tend to accidentally move the mouse after the first click. Sometimes when this happens, the cursor goes off the object and the action that was expected does not take place. Make sure to keep the mouse steady when double clicking on an object.

  2. Dragging-and-dropping:
    • When dragging the scroll bar, people tend to accidentally move the mouse off the scroll bar. When this happens the desired location that the person wants to get to does not occur. Make sure you drag and drop within the scroll bar.
    • When resizing, people have a hard time getting the double-headed arrow to perform the resizing task. Slowly move the mouse to the edge of the border until the double-headed arrow appears.