If you've never used a mouse before, this page will introduce you to 3 basic skills.

1.      Pointing

Sliding the mouse on the mouse pad moves the pointer on the screen.  Rest your hand on the mouse, move it slowly around the mouse pad, and see what happens to the arrow on the screen.

2.      Clicking

To "click" means to gently press and release the left mouse button with your index finger while keeping your hand on the mouse.

Try this:  Point the mouse arrow at the icon (picture) to the left and notice that the arrow changes to a pointing hand.  This means the icon is a link to another destination.  Click the left mouse button to follow the link.

A link can also be text, usually underlined like this: click here.

3.      Scrolling

Scrolling means moving up and down within a web page or other computer window.  This is done by using the mouse to move the "elevator" up and down within the scroll bar at the far right of this screen.  You can do this is three ways:

• To move one line at a time, click on the arrow at the top of the scroll bar or
  the arrow at the bottom.
• To move one screen at a time, click on the empty space within the scroll bar, above or below the elevator.
• To move anywhere within the document, point to the elevator itself.   Press and hold down the left mouse button.  Now you can slide the elevator up or down by sliding the mouse on the mouse pad.   Release the button when you are in the desired location.

Click on this picture to go back to your place in the tutorial.

Congratulations! You are now mouse literate and ready for new computer adventures.

For more practice, visit Mouserobics from the Central Kansas Library System or the New User Tutorial from The Library Network in southeast Michigan.

This mouse was tutorial adapted with permission from the mouse tutorials developed by the Southfield (MI) Public Library and Washoe County (NV) Library.