Using the mouse
Mice are very much an integral part of personal computing today. Mouse pointing devices come in many different forms, from two to 4 or more buttons, mouse wheels, optical mice, ball mice, to trackballs and touchpads. 
What I'll cover here is using a three button mouse with a wheel, which is probably covers the majority of uses.
As you can see from the picture on the right, mice are usually placed on mousemats in the dominant hand (in this picture right-hand dominant), with the buttons at the top. The index finger is over the left button and the middle finger over the right mouse button. The index finger, being most dextrous, performs a number of clicking tasks detailed below, and switches between the left button and the scroll wheel.
The best mousemat to use will depend on your type of mouse. Optical mice prefer a uniform in colour, matt, non-reflective surfice, such as a fabric-covered foam mat. Mice that use a ball instead of the red light in the bottom will work well on a smooth, lint-free surface. A mouse-mat that provides too much resistance to the base of the mouse will make it cumbersome to work with and may make the user vulnerable to repetative strain injury.
For more information about the mechanics of mice take look here
The mouse pointer
The default mouse pointer is an arrow, although mouse pointers are configurable and may vary. The active part of the mouse pointer is at the very tip of the arrow. You will notice that the mouse pointer changes to a bar when it hovers over text, a left-right arrow over the border of a window, a diagonal-arrow in the corner of a window, and a hand when you are hovering over a link. Picutred below are the default pointers for Windows XP.
The left mouse button
Single click
The left mouse button is used most frequently and its function is to select items, open programs, press buttons and activate links. Usually a single press of the left mouse button is used for "selecting", or positioning the cursor (the flashing black bar) in text documents.
Dragging
Dragging is an important feature of the left mouse button where; once an item is selected or the cursor is positioned, the left mouse button is not released, and the mouse is moved across the screen. In text boxes or documents, the effect will select an area of text, inverting the colours to show the selection. The drag function can also be used to manipulate the size of windows, move windows around and manipulate icons. For more information on manipulating windows and icons, read the section Navigating Windows XP
Double-click
A double click is used for opening or running a program, and selecting words in text documents. The time delay for double clicking is fairly short, leaving the novice user selecting twice when they meant to "double click". The rule of thumb is - as fast as you are able!. Windows operating systems enable you to modify the speed at which you click in the "control panel". Using Windows XP, select start, control panel, them double click "mouse". From there you will be able to configure options such as mouse speed, reversing your mouse buttons (for left-handed users) as well as adding mouse-trails to enhance visibility (for older laptop technology).
Double clicking in documents or any text box, will select an entire word for editing. The colours will become inverted and if you type, the whole word will be erased and replaced by what you are typing.
Triple-Click
For the professionals amongst us there is the little know but powerful triple click!, a triple click will select an entire paragraph for editing and the whole paragraph will be deleted if you start typing. Tip: if you accidentally delete an entire paragraph you can try using the "Universal Undo" trick. Hold down the "Ctrl" button and press "z" on your keyboard.
The right mouse button
- It can take many months for the novice user to discover the true potential of the right mouse button. AKA the "alt click" or alternate menu button the right mouse button provides an easy access menu in programs and within the operating system. It displays a menu of tasks of options depending on where you click. For more information on manipulating windows and icons, read the section Navigating Windows XPPrevious Page: Connecting the Keyboard and Mouse
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