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Useful Computer Mouse Tricks and Shortcuts You Might Not Know

Most people know the difference between a left click and a right click on a mouse, but there are many other shortcuts you can create using all mouse buttons. Here are some tricks you can try to reduce the time it takes to perform some common word processing and browsing activities.

ContentsThe third mouse buttonDouble-click and triple-clickShift + mouse shortcutCTRL + Shortcut ClickManaging an open window with the mouse

The third mouse button

Ask most people how many buttons a mouse has, and they'll tell you there are two. That's not entirely true, however. The middle wheel can do more than just scroll. It can be clicked, like the other buttons, by pressing it. Several shortcuts use the wheel as a button.

Useful Computer Mouse Tricks and Shortcuts You Might Not Know

You can select any word by double-clicking on the word. If you want to highlight an entire paragraph or sentence, click the mouse button three times on any word. If you double-click and then drag your mouse, it will highlight one word at a time instead of just one letter.

Shift + mouse shortcut

Sometimes trying to select an entire paragraph of text using your mouse can be difficult. This is especially true if you have a small workspace. You may end up having to lift the mouse while holding down the button to be able to move it that far. However, there is a mouse shortcut that lets you select entire paragraphs of text. Place the cursor at the beginning of the text you want to select, then scroll to the end. Hold the Shift , then left-click where you want the selection to end. The entire paragraph(s) should be highlighted at once.

CTRL + Click Shortcut

Useful Computer Mouse Tricks and Shortcuts You Might Not Know

If you want to highlight portions of text that are not adjacent, you can do so by holding the Ctrl key while clicking with the left mouse button on what you want to highlight. Highlight the first part of the text in the traditional way, then use this method for the other parts. This can be useful when trying to copy only parts of an array or list.

Manage an open window with the mouse

To maximize an open window on your computer, you typically click the buttons in the upper right corner of the window. A faster way to change the size is to double-click on the top title bar of any window. You can also double-click the window icon in the upper left corner of the window to close this window.

Try some of these tricks and see if you can be more productive and efficient with your computer tasks.