Pointing and Clicking

Getting Started

Pointing and Clicking

In Windows 98, the mouse is the tool you will most often use to navigate through the operating system and perform tasks. There are five basic actions you perform with the mouse: point, click, double-click, right-click, and drag.

To point the mouse, simply position the on-screen mouse pointer over an object. Sometimes when you point to an object and “hover” over it, a small box called a tool tip will appear that contains a description of the object. When you point to some objects, the mouse pointer changes shape, alerting you to the fact that you can perform some kind of command. For example, when the pointer turns into a hand with a pointing finger, you are pointing to a clickable item such as a hyperlink. A hyperlink is text or a picture that you can click to jump to another location. A two-headed arrow allows you to resize an object.

Click means to press the left (primary) mouse button. When you click an object you make it active. Double-click means to press the left mouse button twice quickly. Right-click means to press the right (secondary) mouse button. To drag an object with the mouse pointer, point to the object and press and hold down the left mouse button. When you have moved the object to where you want it, release the mouse button to “drop” the object.

To make the mouse comfortable for you and your students to use, you can adjust the speed of the mouse pointer, adjust the mouse for left-handed users, and make the pointers larger or smaller. You can also show the trail of the pointer, which is helpful if you are using the computer with a projection device. For those who cannot use a mouse, keyboard alternatives are available through the Accessibility Wizard.