How do you know when to use the right-click on the mouse? -Jean

How do you know when to use the right-click on the mouse?
-Jean

This question was answered on July 16, 2001. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

The right button on the mouse is one of the most helpful and under-utilized devices in all of computing It gets treated like the ashtray in many a smokers car; it gets ignored (Pet peeve!)

The main reason it gets ignored is that most users have the same problem that you have as to when it should be used

The left mouse button is used to select or launch items and the right mouse button gives you virtually everything else

One of the best ways to learn about the wonders of the right mouse button is to start right clicking on everything that you see Because the right-click option is context sensitive, it will change with every element that you select, giving it the ultimate flexibility.

It can be used as a shortcut, for example, by right-clicking on the “My Computer” icon then selecting Properties to access the System Properties menu Normally you must click on Start, then Settings, then Control Panel, then double-click the System icon (A three click savings!)

A couple of helpful right-click options in Internet Explorer allow you to “grab” virtually any image on the Internet Right-click on any image on a web page and select “Save Picture as” to make a copy of it on your hard drive or “Set as Wallpaper” to make it the background image on your Desktop (The “Set as Wallpaper” option is not available in Netscape’s browsers.)

One of my most frequent uses of “righty” is working with text and images The next time that you want to copy or print an image or a section of text from a web page, word processing document or spreadsheet, simply highlight the desired section (left-click and drag over the area) then right-click within the selected area and choose Copy or Print.

If you select “Copy” you can then go to another program, right-click in a blank area and select “Paste” to insert the previously selected text or image.

If you select “Print” you can tell the print menu to only print the selection, which is a great way to print the content from a website without all of the ads.

When you right-click on a blank part of the Desktop, you can do everything from arrange icons to create a new shortcut to access the Display Properties (select Properties), which include your wallpaper, screen savers and resolution settings.

Programs that are running in the background can be stopped or removed by the all-mighty right-click Try right-clicking on the icons in the Systray (bottom right, next to the clock) to see what the options are for each of the running programs If you are big game player, you want to disable or remove as many of these items before you start your gaming session to free up as much memory and resources as you can.

Right-clicking on the Start button gives you options to quickly access the Windows Explorer as well as the Find command.

Right-clicking on the Task Bar at the bottom gives you additional toolbar options, cascading and tiling options for open programs and quick access to the Taskbar Properties.

By now you may have figured out that Microsoft uses the “Properties” entry to allow users to make adjustments to various portions of Windows, so get out there and start right-clicking!