When you move the mouse across your desk, a small arrow, called a pointer, moves in a corresponding way across the screen.
(See Figure 3-1.)

Pressing and releasing the mouse button is called clicking. (See Figure 3-2.) You point to something and click when you want to select that item for some action.

Double clicking means pressing and releasing the mouse button twice in rapid succession. It's a shortcut used in many mouse-based applications. Where the shortcut leads depends on the application. Again, the manual provided with the application will tell you how double clicking is used in that application.

Figure 3-2
Clicking

When you point to a word or picture and click the mouse button, you are selecting that word or picture for some action.

Selecting is an important concept in mouse-based applications. You select something; then you tell the application what action to perform on the selected text or picture. For example, you might select a block of text and then tell the application to delete it or move it somewhere else in the document.

To select a block of text, point just to the left of the first character, hold down the mouse button, move the pointer to the right of the last character, then release the mousse button. The text between the first and last character will be highlighted to show that you selected it. (See Figure 3-3.)

Holding the mouse button while you move the mouse is called dragging.

Using mouse-based programs

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