The Dark Side of the Mouse
Or - what do you mean right click?

         We all know how to use a computer - we've written novels, used e-mail and researched on the web. Right?

         I once watched a woman number each page of her doctoral thesis manually. She also double spaced by hitting return twice at the end of each line. Maybe we're not all that bad, but learning better methods lowers frustration levels and gives us more time write.

         No-one knows everything about computers - anyway who says they do is either lying or fooling themselves. I know a bit and will pass on a few things I've found useful (using a Windows PC).

         First - the dark side of the mouse.

         In simple terms, the left click performs an action, while the right click offers a list of options.

         For example, highlight a word on the page (in Word) and right click inside the highlighted area:

Word Context Menu         Different options appear in when you right click in different places.

         In this example, you are offered synonyms for the highlighted word. To select an option LEFT click.

         In this case, under synonyms it will also offer a thesaurus. It's not as thorough or as much fun as my battered old Roget's, but it's faster.


         The right click can be used to copy and paste - not just words but whole documents and folders full of documents.

Desktop Context Menu         The right mouse click allows you to rename a document or folder.

         For example, copy Chapter 1 then rename it as Chapter 1 Rewrites. This keeps both the original and the new version.

         Try the right click on a folder or a programme icon. As well as all of the above, you can create shortcuts on your desktop.



         For the left handed who want the mouse on the left side of the computer, open your Start Menu, select Settings then Control Panel. There will be a Mouse (or pointing devices) option. This allows you to switch the buttons to suit the left hand.

         Don't worry - it's hard to do damage. If you hit the Esc key or left click outside the options box, it all goes away. Even if you mistakenly delete something - you can get it back. Go to the trash can and... you guessed it... right click to restore it.