5 mouse tricks that will change the way you use your computer

Your keyboard isn't the only way to interact with your computer, though. The humble mouse sitting next to it can do more than you might think.

I'm not just talking about the right mouse button. I'm sure you know that right-clicking on practically anything in Windows, Mac or your favorite programs can bring up a list of helpful options you wouldn't see otherwise. Once you start right-clicking, you won't stop!

That's just the start of the fun though. Here are a few of my favorite mouse tricks. Most of them work with a laptop track pad too.

DOUBLE YOUR CLICKS; DOUBLE YOUR FUn

The double-click has been around for ages. You use it every day on icons to open programs and files. That's not all it can do, however.

Say you're writing a document and want to select a word. Instead of holding down the left mouse button and dragging the cursor to select a word, you can simply double-click on the word to highlight it instantly.

Take it to the next level: Instead of double-clicking, try a triple-click. It highlights the entire section or paragraph you're working on. You don't even have to triple click rapidly - most programs can figure out what you want.

SHIFT INTO HIGH GEAR

What if you need to highlight more than just a paragraph of text? Maybe you want to select several paragraphs, a large selection of cells in a spreadsheet or a group of file icons.

You can combine the Shift key with your mouse to quickly highlight anything.

Just click at the start of the text you want to highlight. Hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and click at the end of the text you want to highlight (you don't have to press Shift until you're ready for the second click). Then let go of the Shift key.

All the text you want will be highlighted and it just takes a second. With cells and icons, click on the first cell or icon hold Shift and click the last cell or icon you want to select. It makes life so simple.

Want to add more to a selection or select less? Hit Shift again and click before or after that last thing you clicked.

Take it to the next level: Double-click on text to select a full paragraph. Then hold the Shift key and start single clicking other paragraphs. They'll be highlighted as well.

TAKE FULL CONTROL

Using Shift to highlight text, cells and icons does have a drawback - you can't select things that aren't next to each other.

That's where the Control (Ctrl) key on your keyboard comes in handy. In a word processor or browser, hold Ctrl and start double-clicking on words to select them.

For files in Windows, hold Ctrl and single click on each item you want. You can release the Ctrl key at any time and then press it again to add more items.

Did you accidentally highlight something you didn't mean to? Hold Ctrl and click the highlighted item again. It will be deselected.

In fact, you can highlight an entire group of items using the Shift + click trick above and then deselect individual items using Ctrl + click.

Take it to the next level: In many programs, including Web browsers, you can zoom text by holding the Ctrl key while moving your mouse's scroll wheel. Just push the scroll wheel up to zoom in and down to zoom out.

TAKE A SCROLL

Your mouse's scroll wheel can do so much more than move pages up and down. I just told you how to use it with the Ctrl key to zoom text.

Did you know that it also acts as a button? Press down on the scroll wheel and you'll hear a click. This is commonly called a "middle-click."

The middle-click button does different things in different programs. For example, in your Web browser, hover your mouse cursor over a link and middle-click. This automatically opens the link in a new tab.

This is much faster than right-clicking on the link and choosing "Open in a new tab." You can also middle click on an open tab to quickly close it.

Middle-click on a blank spot on any page and it brings up a navigation tool. You can then move your mouse to move around the page.

Try experimenting with middle-click in some of your favorite programs to see what happens.

CREATE YOUR OWN TRICKS

The middle-click acts as a third button, but some mice come with even more buttons. If you have a mouse with multiple buttons, it should come with software that helps you customize it.

Set up buttons to move forward and back when surfing the Web, open your favorite programs, copy and paste and so much more.

Don't have a fancy mouse? Don't worry. In Windows, just go to Control Panel>>Hardware and Sound>>Mouse. For Mac it's in System Preferences>>Mouse.

Here, you can change what the buttons do, how fast they respond and make other tweaks. You can even change the cursor style your mouse uses. I know many people find the larger cursor options much easier to use.