Learning Debian GNU/Linux

Mouse Operations

Mouse operations under X are similar to mouse operations under Microsoft Windows, although you perform them differently. The most common mouse operations are:

• Copying and pasting text

• Using scrollbars

Copying and Pasting Text

To copy and paste text, you must first mark the text. To do so, you move the mouse cursor to the beginning of the text, press the left mouse button, and drag the mouse across the text to be marked. X automatically copies the marked text into a buffer; you don’t need to press Ctrl-C or perform any other operation. If you find that you need to change the size of the marked text section, you can press the right mouse button and move the mouse to adjust the marked text.

Tip

Some window managers display a pop-up menu when you click the right button, even when the mouse cursor is above text. When using such a window manager, you cannot use the right mouse button to adjust the size of the marked text section.

To paste the text, properly position the insertion point and press the middle mouse button. If your mouse has only two buttons, simultaneously press the left and right buttons to simulate pressing the middle mouse button. You may find that this operation requires a little practice before you get it right, but once you’ve mastered it you’ll find it works almost as well as having a three-button mouse.

Using Scrollbars

Many X programs provide scrollbars that resemble those provided by Microsoft Windows programs. However, the operation of scrollbars ...