Use a computer mouse correctly for beginners

Using a computer mouse is one of the first steps to properly operate a computer. These steps teach you how to use a computer mouse correctly for beginners using either a PC and a MAC computer mouse, whether connected to the computer, wireless, or connected via Bluetooth.

Steps to use a computer mouse correctly for beginners on a PC

1. Familiarize yourself with the mouse.

The front of the mouse points away from you and has two buttons left and right that you can click on. These can be used to open programs and menus. In the middle of these two buttons is a small wheel that allows you to scroll through the pages.

You can click with the index finger on the left and with the middle finger on the right button. On the bottom of the mouse is a sensor, with which the mouse knows where to move.  A wireless mouse may have a compartment for inserting a battery and an on / off switch.

2. Place the mouse on a clean, smooth surface, preferably a mouse pad.

This allows the mouse to move smoothly. You may have problems with the mouse when it is not on a mouse pad, such as a mouse pad. For example, if scrolling does not work smoothly.

3. Hold the mouse lightly in your dominant hand.

You do not want to hang too hard on the mouse or click with much force. Keep your fingers relaxed and keep the mouse at elbow level. When your fingers get tired, take breaks at the computer.

How to change mouse sensitivity

4. Insert the mouse with your USB port.

Your mouse will have a cable or a small USB port if it is a wireless mouse. USB ports are located in different areas for each computer. However, laptops generally have USB ports on the left or right side of the keyboard. Most desktops have a USB port on the front or back of the modem or on both sides of the monitor. Look for a small square connector that matches the size of your USB port.  Plug in the USB connector. Turn the USB plug over if it does not fit for the first time, but never force the USB plug.

5. If necessary, connect the mouse via Bluetooth.

Plug the Bluetooth transceiver into a USB port and press and hold the connect button on the USB transceiver for five seconds. Next, the connection wizard will be displayed. Follow the instructions in the wizard to connect to your device.

6. Make sure the mouse works.

Your computer should be turned on and you should see a cursor on the screen that you can control by moving the mouse. If the mouse does not work, plug it into another USB port or plug it in again. Also, make sure that a wireless mouse is turned on and has batteries.

7. Practice clicking with the mouse.

The left button is the primary right-handed button, and the right button is the primary left-handed button. Click once on the primary button to click and twice in succession to double-click a program or menu. If you click the non-primary button, it will be called a “right-click”.

• A single click often selects an item or opens a menu. 
• Double-clicking often opens items or folders. 
• When you right-click, it usually displays a list of actions that you can take on a selected item.

8. Practice scrolling and dragging objects with the mouse.

Move the wheel with your index finger to roll the pages up and down. To drag an object, place the cursor over it, press and hold the Primary key, and move the mouse to a new location. Release the primary button when you’re done.

9. Adjust the mouse as needed.

You can change how quickly your mouse pointer moves around the screen, change the primary mouse buttons, if you are left-handed, and even change the appearance of the mouse pointer. Go to the settings on your PC.

Step to use a computer mouse correctly for beginners if on an Apple Mac

“The MAC mouse is called a ‘magic mouse’ and does not have the same buttons as a PC mouse. It’s seamless and does not work over buttons, but over a chip. It has an on / off switch and a censor on the bottom.

1. Set up the mouse via Bluetooth.

First, charge the batteries with the installation program that delivered the mouse and insert the batteries for the Magic Mouse into the mouse. Then use the mouse pad on your computer to open “Mouse System Preferences” by clicking “System Preferences” in the Apple menu and then clicking “Mouse.”

Then click on “Set up Bluetooth mouse” in the lower right corner. Then switch on the mouse by setting the on / off switch of the mouse to “On”. 
After that, the mouse should work. 
If the LED on the bottom of the mouse does not light up or blink when you turn it on, make sure that the batteries are charged and installed correctly.

2. Click with the mouse.

With the MAC mouse you can click on any part of the interface to click on a program or menu. Just click in the upper right corner to right-click on it. If you are left-handed, you can customize the mouse by right-clicking in the left corner.

Navigate to System Preferences, a gray wheel icon at the bottom of the MAC screen, then click Mouse to customize the mouse. 
You can even disable the multi-touch features of the mouse if you want to use it like a PC mouse.

3. Scroll with the mouse by rubbing your finger vertically.

This will move the pages up and down. If you move your finger horizontally, you can scroll left or right. When you move your finger around in a circle, you can scroll around a document or image in a circle.

4. Swipe left or right with two fingers to browse the pages.

Swipe left or right with two fingers. This will allow you to switch between pages in Safari, pictures in iPhoto, or titles in iTunes.

5. Zoom in with the mouse.

By holding down the “Control” on your keyboard and scrolling up, you can zoom in on your desktop. Hold down “Control” and scroll down to zoom out.

Windows: Enable keyboard mouse

If the mouse is broken or its battery is dead, the keyboard is still available. These can be used on a Windows PC like a mouse, ie move the cursor over the screen and execute individual actions at the press of a button. For this you must first activate this keyboard mouse – of course without a mouse. Under Windows 7, 8 and 10 this works as follows:

1. Simultaneously press the “Alt” keys, the left shift key and “num” on the keyboard.
2. A window will appear with the question Do you want to activate the mouse buttons? As a rule, the button Yes is activated. Press the Enter key to confirm or, alternatively, simultaneously press the “Alt”, “Left Shift” and “Num” keys.
3. If “Num” is activated, in other words a light on the keyboard lights up permanently, you can move the mouse pointer with the number keys on the right number block.
4. Ideally, you have in advance called the activation window and go to Ease of Access Center to disable the keyboard shortcut clicked. For example, you can set the pointer speed here. Unfortunately, the menu field can not be activated without a mouse.

The numbers on the numeric keys show you the direction: With the “8” you move the mouse pointer upwards, with the “4” to the left, the “7” moves the mouse pointer to the top left, the “3” to the right down etc. The other main mouse clicks replace with these buttons and combinations:

• Left mouse click: Key “5” on the numeric keypad
• Double-click with left mouse button: “Plus” button on the numeric keypad
• Hold left mouse button pressed: “o” on the numeric keypad
• Release left mouse button: Comma-key on the numeric keypad
• Right-click: simultaneously press Shift and “F10”.

To disable the keyboard mouse,

1. Navigate to the notification area on the lower menu bar. Here (or behind the arrow labeled Show hidden icons ) you will see a mouse icon.
2. Double-click (with the “plus” key in the numeric keypad) on the mouse icon.
3. Disable in the opening menu window the checkmark mouse buttons activate .
4. Click OK .

Windows: The most important keyboard shortcuts

Many commands in Windows and in some programs can be triggered by keyboard – even without an activated keyboard mouse, which controls the mouse pointer, the so-called cursor. For this you need different shortcuts, also called keyboard shortcuts or shortcuts. Many users use these shortcuts in everyday life, even when the mouse is available, as they can always leave both hands on the keyboard in this way. These are the most important shortcuts:

• Open Start Menu: Ctrl + Esc
• Change between the individual programs: Alt + Tab
• Open the main menu within a program: Alt + spacebar
• End current program: Alt + F4
• Select everything in the current window: Ctrl + A
• Rename selected object: F2
• Cut: Ctrl + X
• Copy: Ctrl + C
• Insert: Ctrl + V
• Undo action: Ctrl + Z

Keyboard does not work: first aid

Not only the mouse but also the keyboard can set the function from now on. These measures can remedy the situation:

• Check the correct connection of the keyboard. Pull out the USB plug once and plug it in again.
• Change the USB port to which the keyboard is connected.
• Restart the computer.
• Check that the operating system and all drivers are up-to-date.

Mac: Enable keyboard control

Just like a Windows PC , you can control a Mac using only the keyboard. The prerequisite is that you activate the so-called mouse operation. To do this, proceed as follows:

• Press the shortcut keys Option (“ctrl”), Command (“cmd”) and F5.
• Highlight in the opening menu window, the field mouse operation enable (or disable it if you want to control with the mouse, the device again).
• For a Mac with a touch bar, you can alternatively press Touch ID three times in quick succession.
• With a touchpad, you can alternatively> System Settings> Accessibility> Mouse & Trackpad navigate to Apple and in this way enable mouse operation .

Then you can move the mouse pointer to the left, top, right and bottom as with a Windows PC with the numbers 4, 8, 6 and 2 of the numeric keypad. The numbers in the corners make for a diagonal movement. If your keyboard does not have a number pad on the right side, you can alternatively use keys from the ordinary QWERTY keyboard. Use the following keys to move the mouse pointer …

• to the left: U
• to the top: 8
• to the right: O
• down: K
• Keys 7, 9, J and L move the mouse pointer diagonally.

The other mouse functions are also taken over by keys:

• Mouse click: 5 (numeric keypad) or I
• Hold down the mouse button: 0 (numeric keypad) or M
• Release the mouse button: Point key (in the numeric keypad or on the normal keyboard.

Caution: If the mouse is activated, text input is not possible via the keyboard or the numeric keypad.