Mouse Basics

Mouse terms

The mouse (along with the keyboard) is your way of communicating with the computer. By sliding the mouse around you control where the "pointer" (usually a small arrow) moves on the screen.

"Click" the mouse means to press and release a mouse button once.

"Double-click" means to click a mouse button twice quickly.

"Drag" means to press and hold down a mouse button, move the pointer and then release the mouse button.

About the three-button mouse:

The mouse attached to a Unix workstation has three buttons. Each button does something different. Let's start by giving each button a name. First, position the mouse so that the cord is at the top.

• MB1 (mouse button 1) is the left button.
• MB2 (mouse button 2) is the middle button.
• MB3 (mouse button 3) is the right button.

MB1 is the main button you will use when you are working in a window.You will use it activate windows, select text and move the page up and down.

To see what MB2 and MB3 do, move the pointer off of any windows and onto the background (also called the Root Window). Your cursor will change to an X. With the pointer on the background, you can use the MB2 and MB3 mouse buttons in the following ways.

• MB2: Hold down MB2 and the Application menu will pop up. From this menu you will be able to start up the main applications on the system.

• MB3: Hold down MB3 and the Root menu will pop up. From this menu you will be able to manage your windows and logout.

Using the mouse to copy and paste text

You can use MB1 and MB2 to copy and paste text between windows. To do this,

1. Highlight the text you want to copy with MB1. Leave it highlighted.
2. Select the window where the text is to go by clicking on its title bar (the text to be copied should remain highlighted).
3. Move the pointer to where you want to place the text.
4. Click MB2. The text will be pasted there.

Go to the Unix Workstation Guide.

Last modified June 15, 2005 by cawalker