What functions does a mouse wheel have?

We’re all used to using the mouse scroll wheel to move through documents but it is capable of doing a lot more.

It also acts as a button with some useful tricks. If you press it down in a Word document a marker appears. As you move the cursor away from this marker the scrolling speed increases. Press the wheel again to stop scrolling.

A scroll wheel can also be used to open a web link in a new tab in Firefox. Make sure the cursor is over the link and press the mouse wheel.

It is possible to change how fast the wheel scrolls pages when it rotates. Click on Start and Control Panel. In XP, click on Printers and Other Hardware and then Mouse. Click on the Wheel tab.In Vista and Windows 7 open the Start menu and type 'mouse' into the search window and press Enter.

It’s also worth checking the manual for the mouse, as some Microsoft and Logitech mice can scroll from side to side by pushing the wheel to the left or right.

Suzannah Robinson

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