Wow, I get that question so many times that I decided we should put up an explanation on the site. All computer mice have at least two buttons. The primary button is usually the left one and does the vast majority of the work. Follow these rules when thinking about your mouse buttons:

Left Mouse Button

• It is your primary work horse AND the only button used for double-clicking.
• Double-clicking is NEVER required…it is always an option.
• The only places you need to double-click (and I'll show you how to avoid it altogether at the end of this tip) are the Desktop and any Windows Explorer window where you want to open a file.
• When clicking links and menu options on the Internet, Click just ONE TIME with the left mouse button
• If you are moving Solitaire cards from one stack to another or files from one folder to another, you click ONE time with the Left mouse button and hold it down while moving the object. When you let go of the button, the item will stay where you put it.
• This is the only button you will use to make selections from menus.

Right Mouse Button

• You can get by your whole computing life without ever pushing this button, but using it will help you save time.
• The ONLY purpose of the right mouse button is to present you with a menu of options.
• Depending on what you click on, the menu options will change.
• After the menu is presented, you can push Escape on your keyboard to dismiss the menu OR click with the LEFT mouse button anywhere outside the menu box.
• Any selections you make from the menu is with the LEFT (primary) mouse button.

If you want to do away with double-clicking forever, you can do so by following these steps:

1. Click Start –> My Computer
2. Click Tools –> Folder Options from the menus
3. In the "Click items as follows" area, click the "Single-click to open an item" option
4. Click Apply
5. Click OK

Now everything on your computer will require only a single click (with rare exceptions depending on the programs you use).

Related articles:

1. Deep Cleaning Temporary Files in Windows XP
2. Internet Explorer 7 Keyboard shortcuts
3. Zonbu – Part III
4. Customizing the Windows XP Start Menu Part II
5. AOL and Vista

Tags: Internet, Windows

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 13th, 2006 at 11:33 pm and is filed under General Computer Tips, Hardware Tips, Riding Shotgun with Rick, Windows Tips. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.