Computer Basics · Mouse, Touchpad & Keyboard · Lesson 2 of 5

Drag, Drop & Scroll

Move things around the screen and see the rest of a long page.

Drag and drop

Sometimes you want to move something on the screen. You can do that by dragging it.

To drag, point at the thing, then press the left mouse button and hold it down. Keep holding while you move the mouse. The thing moves with the pointer.

To drop, let go of the button. The thing lands where the pointer is.

A folder is a container that holds files, like a paper folder in a drawer. Here is how to move a file into a folder:

1. Point at the file.
2. Press and hold the left button.
3. Move the pointer onto the folder. The folder often lights up.
4. Let go. The file is now inside the folder.

On a touchpad, dragging takes more practice. Press the touchpad down until it clicks and keep holding. Then slide your finger to move, and lift to let go. Many people find a mouse easier for this.

If you let go too early, the thing just drops where it is. That's fine. Pick it up again and keep going.

On the practice computer, drag the photo Beach onto the folder Trip. Then scroll down the long list to find Saturday plan, marked with a star.

Scrolling

Many pages are too long to fit on the screen. To see the rest, you scroll. Scrolling moves the page up or down, like rolling a long paper scroll.

Most mice have a small wheel between the two buttons. This is the scroll wheel. Roll it toward you to move down the page. Roll it away from you to move back up.

On a touchpad, place two fingers on it and slide them up or down together. A Mac trackpad works the same way.

Sometimes the page moves the opposite way from what you expect. That is a setting you can change. Either way feels normal once you get used to it.

You can also use the scroll bar. It is a thin strip along the right edge of a window. Inside it is a small bar that shows where you are on the page.

• Drag the small bar down to move far down the page.
• Click in the empty part of the strip to jump about one screen at a time.

Some scroll bars stay thin or hidden until you move the pointer near them. On a Mac, they often appear only while you scroll.

Lost your place? Scroll slowly and look for words you remember.