Remember the Fundamentals

The infamous left mouse button. The only button there is. This button opens doors to places you've never seen before - the Internet; Microsoft Word; pictures of your new grandbaby. But just what do those other buttons on that blasted mouse do anyway?

The standard mouse in the year aught seven comes with three buttons. The left mouse button. The right mouse button. The scroll button. Let's break it down.

The left mouse button is your ACTION button. It takes you places. It allows you to select items. It allows you to launch software applications. If you accidentally click the left mouse button, you may end up somewhere you didn't intend to go.

The right mouse button is your OPTION button. It displays a 'context menu'. The reason it is called a 'context menu' is because the options in it change depending on where you are when you right click. When you are on the Internet and you right-click on a web page, you get a 'context menu' with options that apply to being online on that particular page. When you are within a software program and you right-click, you get a 'context menu' with options that apply to being inside that particular piece of software. If you accidentally right-click, the worst you can do is display a menu of options. Fear the right-click no more!

And finally, the scroll button. The little button with lots of umph! It resides between the left mouse and right mouse button. If you roll the scroll button with your pointer finger, it will scroll you up and down a page (as opposed to using the scroll bar on the right-hand side of the screen). If you accidentally click the scroll button, you will get an image on your screen that looks like an arrow pointing up, one pointing down, and a dot in-between with a circle around the whole works. If you just move your mouse without clicking again, you can use this as a way to slowly scroll through a page or a way to move quickly to the beginning or end of a page. To get rid of it, simply roll the scroll button or click one of the other buttons.

And there you have it. Never knew that blasted mouse could be so helpful, did you? I bet you learned something, too. Never underestimate the power of the basics - in whatever you do.