(Update to this post: if you’ve been having trouble getting the right click to work—after turning it on in System Preferences—you may want to read the posts at this link. We have seen a couple of cases where the mighty mouse worked fine on one Mac, but was unresponsive on another. If you get fed up with mm, we recommend buying the cheapest wired model by Logitech (under $20 on sale); it won’t let you down!)
How many of you are using your mighty mouse to right click ? Not sure what this means? Don’t be embarrassed! For years, Apple resisted adopting a mouse feature that Windows users had come to take for granted. Oh, we could bring up a contextual menu, just like right clicking users of non-Apple two-button mice, but we needed two hands to do so. Apple users could press and hold the Control key on the keyboard while clicking their one button mouse and a little menu would magically appear. But being able to accomplish this wizardry with a right click required us to buy a non-Apple mouse!
In August/05, SJobs and crew capitulated at last, and introduced a new Apple mouse, dubbed Mighty Mouse, with 4 buttons so cleverly hidden many new users didn’t even notice them.
However, Apple still didn’t make it any easier to right click!
For reasons inexplicable, when Macs ship, Buttons 1 and 2, on either side of the scroll wheel, but not identified in any way, are both set to “Primary Button.” Buttons 3 and 4, on the other hand, are usually assigned to Dashboard and Exposé (and when pushed or squeezed accidentally, tend to scare the dickens out of folks who didn’t know about them).
To turn on the right click (Secondary Button), go to System Preferences > Keyboard and Mouse, click Mouse, then click the Primary Button box on the right and select Secondary Button.
While there, you may want to set Buttons 3 and 4 to Off—as in screenshot left. You can access Exposé and Dashboard easily from the keyboard (Fn keys 3 and 4 on new aluminum keyboards, or F9 and F12 on older models) and avoid the surprises mentioned above.
“Why do I want to do this ?” you ask. Because being able to right click will make your computing much more efficient by saving you the trouble of having to search through a menu bar looking for a particular command or action that should be right at your fingertips (and with right clicking turned on, is ). The opportunities are endless, it seems, but let’s look at three situations where right clicking brings up a helpful menu of choices:
When browsing in Safari: Encounter a word you don’t understand?
Right click on it and slide down to Look up in Dictionary.
Made a bookmark that’s too long for the Bookmarks Bar?
Right click on it, and select Edit Name.
Composing in Mail, and misspelled a word?
Right click on it, and you may see the correct spelling already displayed.
There are so many other situations where Right clicking saves time and energy. Explore for yourself. You’ll be amazed at what’s “programmed in.” Be forewarned, however: be careful where you click in the drop down menu. You can get yourself in trouble by carelessly choosing something you didn’t intend to!
Finally, what you get when you Right click in one application may be similar OR quite different from what is available when you Right click in a similar application. For example, try Right clicking in both Apple’s Safari browser and in Mozilla’s Camino or Firefox, and you’ll see what we mean. The Dictionary feature mentioned above, for one, works only in Safari.