The Mouse and the Arrow

Next to the keyboard, the mouse is the single most important input device you will be using to interact with programs on your computer. This device, which vaguely resembles a real mouse, by virtue of the long wire/"tail" connecting it to the computer, is hand controlled: you place your hand over the mouse and move it back and forth, up or down. The typical computer mouse rests a flat, smooth and rectangular surface called a mouse pad. This is where you move the mouse.

When you move the mouse, an arrow on the computer's screen moves. This arrow occasionally changes shape when you hover over things. Sometimes it will resemble the capital letter I, or a hand, or an hour glass. An "I"-shaped mouse pointer indicates you can type text beneath where the pointer is currently at. To type in that area you would click once with the left mouse button, then type.

A hand most often appears when you are connected to the Internet and are viewing web pages (pages containing information that includes text or pictures you can click on for more information). An hour glass indicates the computer is waiting for a process to finish; for example, if you're printing a letter you have typed, you may see an hour glass while the computer communicates with the printer.