Mice

We take it for granted nowadays that you interact with a computer using a mouse.  A mouse is a pointing device, which rolls on a surface and displays a pointer on the screen which allows you to point to what you want and select it.  It features 2 buttons and a wheel in the middle, which can also be used as a button and a cord if it is one that is plugged in.

Mice come in many shapes and sizes, and some are built in, as in the case of laptops.  I thought it was a worthy subject to talk about as mice are often overlooked, and can be more useful and interesting than you might think!

Mice have been in wide use since the 60’s.  Their early history is fascinating, and stemmed from the military.  If you are interested, do look this up on Wikipedia!  They started as 5 pin bowling balls.

They can be used in many ways- most of which you probably already know, but perhaps not!

·      Hovering over text with a mouse will often reveal information that is hidden.  Try this to see what date a photograph was taken.

·      Single left click, used to select.

·      Double left click, if done quickly will allow you to open programmes.   You would do this automatically to open an icon on the desktop, and you need to do so to open a folder.  You can also use double left click to select a single word in text.

·      Triple left click will select a sentence or paragraph in text.

·      Right click will bring up a menu.  This menu will change according to what you are doing.

·      Click the middle button- can also be used to select.

·      Click and drag- used to move things around in your folders or on the desktop.

·      Roll the middle button to travel up and down on your screen.  Many people overlook this feature.  It is so useful and easier than any other method when it comes to moving about on the screen.

·      Clicking while holding down another key to select multiple files.

·      Gestures- gamers will be familiar with these- swiping might make your character move to the right or left.

·      If mice have other buttons on them, these can be set up to do shortcuts.

Different type of mice include:

·      Optical or LED.

·      Laser.

·      Ergonomic.  These are comfy and designed to avoid RSI.

·      Gaming.  These come set up with lots of programmable buttons.

·      Wand, doesn’t need to be on a flat surface.

·      Ball mouse, great for very young children or those who struggle to control a mouse because of a shake.  They are large, and you use a finger to move the ball rather than move the whole mouse about.

They can be cordless or connected by a wire.

There are things to consider about using a mouse.  Make sure it isn’t too small for the size of your hand.  Make sure you are comfortable when using it.  I very often teach people who are using cheap and tiny mice, and they wonder why they are struggling.  For older people, the bigger the mouse, the easier it is.  Also just because you are using a laptop with inbuilt mouse doesn’t mean that you can’t plug a mouse in!  Many people find trackpads tricky on laptops.  It is easy to catch them with your wrist and do things that you hadn’t anticipated, so if this is happening to you, plug in a mouse and give it a try!  You can also disable the trackpad on your laptop to stop problems of accidentally clicking on something.

Mice can be adapted to your needs.  If you are left handed, you can set them up the opposite way.  You can also make the cursor (pointer arrow) larger or blacker so that you can see it better on the screen.  If the mouse is moving too fast, you can slow it down.

Hope that after reading this, you will have learned something new, and will look anew at your mouse and discover it’s true potential!