Parts of the mouse

A mouse is moved on a desk by your hand. As you move the mouse it moves the pointer on the screen. The mouse will usually have at least two buttons (known as the left and right mouse buttons) and will also often have a scroll wheel between them.

a labelled photo of a mouse showing its main features, the left button at the front left, the right button at the front right, the scroll wheel in the middle, the cable leading from the front and the palm rest

Using a mouse

A)     Moving the pointer

To move the pointer on the screen, move the mouse around on the desk.

B)      Left Mouse Click

A left mouse click is a single press and release of the left mouse button. It is called a click because of the sound it makes. A left click will usually select an item on the screen.

C)      Right Mouse Click

A right mouse click is a single click of the right mouse button. A right mouse click will usually reveal a menu of choices of different things you can do.

D)     Double Click

A double click is the term for clicking the left mouse button quickly twice. A double click will select and then activate an action. For example double clicking on a game icon on the desktop makes the game start.

E)      Dragging

Dragging is where the user clicks the mouse button and holds it down. The user then moves the mouse across the desk. This process ‘dragging’ enables an object to be selected and moved across the screen. It can also enable multiple objects to be selected.

F)      Scrolling

Scrolling is the term used for turning the scroll wheel. This is often used to scroll through the contents of a window with a scroll bar at the side of it. Rolling the scroll wheel away from you will move the document up, and rolling it towards you will move the document down.

You can download a printable labelling exercise for this here: exercise_-_mouse_diagram

The Touchpad

Laptop computers have a touchpad which is like a mouse. Rubbing your finger on it moves the mouse pointer. It also has two buttons as in a mouse.

a labelled photo of a touchpad showing the touch sensitive area at the top, the left button below it to the left, the right button below it to the right and the scrolling area on the far left hand side of the touch area.

You can download a printable labelling exercise for this here: exercise_-_touchpad

 

Accessibility assistance for the mouse

In Windows you can make the mouse easier for you to use. This can be done using the ‘accessibility wizard’ available from the accessibility menu under accessories.

Different designs of mouse may increase the ease of use for particular users. A wireless mouse could prevent problems caused by wires, or a track ball could be useful where a user has limited movement.

For more information on Accessibility you can check out the Microsoft Accessibility pages.

Fun Things to Try

You could now try: