Mouse Button

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What is a Mouse Button in the Computer?

A mouse button is a physical button found on the mouse, the computer device you typically find next to the keyboard. The typical mouse has 3 mouse buttons: left, middle, and right. Most applications can make use of the left and right buttons. Some mouses have 4 or more buttons, but applications generally don't do anything with them, so their functions need to be customized by the user on a per-application basis.

Photo of a black computer mouse with a blue scroll wheel (and a cat beside it).
A cat presses the right mouse button on a mouse. Credit: Zan Ready via Flickr. Cat: Dexter. License: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Written by Noel Santos.

About the Author

I'm a self-taught Brazilian programmer graduated in IT from a FATEC. In a world of increasingly complex and essential computers, I decided to use my technical expertise in hardware, desktop applications, and web technologies to create an informative resource to make PC's easier to understand.

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