Mouse

Computer Mouse

A mouse is an Input Device

Any computer or laptop needs software and hardware to perform its functions. Computer software is useless without hardware, while computer hardware is of no use without software. Both are equally important for the computer to function correctly. The computers need some input and output devices to reproduce the output. This article will give you information about one such computer input hardware, known as the computer mouse.

A computer mouse is an input device users can use with a computer or laptop. It is a handheld hardware input device that controls a cursor in a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and can move and select icons, text, files, and folders on your computer or laptop. Desktop computer users can place it on a flat surface like a mouse pad or desk in front of a computer.

Users can move the mouse and select different texts, files, folders, images, and icons. Users can use it to select or move the items by pressing or clicking the mouse buttons.

Nowadays, mice have two buttons, the left, and the right button. There is a scroll wheel between the left and right buttons. Mouse manufacturers use different technology and try to make it more comfortable and useful for users.  

Importance of the Mouse

A mouse is an input device in the world of Windows. In computers, the mouse is a viewing device. The mouse has become an integral part of modern computers.  Users can select the program by moving the cursor on a flat surface or the mouse pad, moving the cursor over different objects or icons on the screen. Recently mice have been made with wire and using wireless technology. Users can use them at their convenience.

Activities using the mouse

The mouse generally performs the following types of acts.

1. Click or a Single click

Click or a single click is an act of pressing a computer mouse button once without moving the mouse. By default, the left mouse button is the primary mouse button.  Users can use the left button to do the crucial action or ordinary tasks of the mouse. Usually, the user can use the left mouse button to select one or more times. Click or single click is by default in many operating systems.

2. Double click

Double click is a term used to describe the process of quickly pressing a mouse button twice without moving the mouse. In most cases, a user can use the left mouse button for a double click. It helps to open or execute a file, folder, or software program. If you are working with text, double-clicking a word selects that word.

3. Right-click

Right-click is a term used to describe the process of pressing or clicking the right mouse button. The right mouse button is useful to open contextual menus, which are pop-up menus that change depending on where you click. If you right-click on the desktop, you may see a menu pop up that includes "Change View Options" and "Change Desktop Background." If you right-click on a folder, the menu might show the options such as "Open" and "Properties." Most programs, however, use the right-click to open contextual menus.

4. Drag

When moving a file, folder, or icon, press and hold the left mouse button on it and then move the mouse and release the button where you want. Using the right mouse button to drag will allow you to control the action of drag-and-drop. Click on one or more selected files then, keep the mouse button held down. Drag them to a specified location and then drop them by releasing the mouse button at the location of your choice.

If you drag files from one folder to another folder on the same drive, Windows will move the files. But if you drag files to another drive or a network drive, Windows will copy the files. If you hold down Shift, then dragging will move a file. If you hold down Ctrl, dragging will copy a file. That's just for files and folders – different things happen when you drag and drop items in Outlook or Word or Excel or other programs.

Functions of the Mouse

Following is a list of computer mouse functions.

1. Move the mouse cursor

Moving the cursor is the primary function of the mouse. The mouse is used to move the cursor or the mouse pointer on the computer screen.

2. Open, close, or execute a program

Computer users can use the mouse to open any program. Users can use it to select icons, files, and folders. A mouse is used to open files and folders and execute them by clicking or double-clicking.

3. Selection

Computer users can use the mouse to select the text, files, folders, or multiple files or folders at once or highlight them.

4. Drag and Drop

Drag and drop is a pointing device gesture. In which the user moves the pointer to the object. Then select any object, grab it, move the mouse pointer to the desired location, and drop the selected item or object by releasing the button to the desired location. 

How to do the drag and drop?

Follow the following sequence to do the drag and drop method.

Move the pointer to the object.

Press and hold down the left button on the mouse to grab the object.

Drag the object by moving the mouse pointer to the desired location.

Drop the object by releasing the button to the desired location.

5. Mouse Hover

The mouse allows users to hover over an object. Moving the mouse cursor over an icon with hover information helps to discover each object's function. 

A mouse hover triggers an event when a user places a mouse over a designated area, such as a hyperlink on a Web page. The action of moving the mouse over the item causes events such as pop-up windows or description boxes.

6. Scroll wheel

A scroll wheel is a wheel used for scrolling the long document pages. We can usually see the scroll wheel made of hard plastic with a rubber surface. It is between the left and right mouse buttons. 

The scroll button is useful for viewing long documents and Web pages. It is most useful for users to view a long text document or a long Web page. The mouse allows users to scroll the document page up and down or right and left.

Along with the regular left and right buttons, scroll mice may have side buttons useful for the Previous Page, Next Page, and other actions. Besides, the scroll wheel may move from side to side for horizontal scrolling.