# How does one use a PC without a mouse? Can one...? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 13, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085 "2016-04-13T16:53:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/1 "2016-04-13T16:53:22Z")
I just dropped my mouse. No harm done. But, suddenly I recalled that I had never used a PC without a mouse. Somewhere there must have once been instructions on how to navigate and enter without a mouse. Quickest way to instructions, I Google what? Probably ~How to use a PC without a mouse~? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/2 "2016-04-13T16:57:37Z")
You can do it with just the keyboard. The tab key tends to cycle through clickable items, and the enter key is more or less equivalent to click or double click. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/3 "2016-04-13T16:58:00Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > …I Google what? Probably ~How to use a PC without a mouse~? Yep. Here’s one of many results: [How to Use Your Computer Without a Mouse: Windows and Mac](http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Your-Computer-Without-a-Mouse) ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/4 "2016-04-13T16:59:20Z")
“Mouse keys windows [version]” (insert the proper reference to your windows version there.) This is an accessibility feature in all versions of windows that lets you simulate a mouse with a number keypad. Googling “Keyboard shortcuts windows” may also have suggestions for ways to do particular things with the keyboard that you’d ordinarily use the mouse for. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/5 "2016-04-13T17:00:58Z")
Most applications and web pages let you tab your focus from one field/control to the next, and use enter the same way you’d use a mouse click. There are also all kinds of keyboard shortcuts you can learn to use. Win+r to open the run menu rather than clicking start, and so on. I constantly use Win+r to run things and Win+e to open explorer windows rather than click through the GUI. And of course ctrl-c, ctrl-v, ctrl-x, ctrl-z and ctrl-y. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/6 "2016-04-13T17:01:58Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Yep. Here’s one of many results: [How to Use Your Computer Without a Mouse: Windows and Mac](http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Your-Computer-Without-a-Mouse) How would she click on that link? I just hit “TAB” multiple times, and the link never highlighted. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/7 "2016-04-13T17:06:56Z")
I remember when “PC” meant [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Personal_Computer), and they didn’t have mouses. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/8 "2016-04-13T17:08:42Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How would she click on that link? I just hit “TAB” multiple times, and the link never highlighted. It worked for me. But it took a long time to get to that particular link, because there are so many clickable things on the page. ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/9 "2016-04-13T17:11:58Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > How would she click on that link? I just hit “TAB” multiple times, and the link never highlighted. That worked for me but it took about 30 clicks because first it highlighted everything clickable from the top of the page (Straight Dope Message Board \> Main \> General Questions \> etc) and then highlighted each name in subsequent posts and then the reply image and the multiple quotes image and then landed on the url in that message. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/10 "2016-04-13T17:17:02Z")
Got it-thanks. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/11 "2016-04-13T17:32:51Z")
People used to be asking me how does one use a PC _ **with** _ a mouse? Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go tie an onion to my belt. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/12 "2016-04-13T17:46:12Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > People used to be asking me how does one use a PC _ **with** _ a mouse? Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go tie an onion to my belt. In those days the world was sepia-toned. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/13 "2016-04-13T17:54:51Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > In those days the world was sepia-toned. According to Calvin’s dad, the world was black and white until some time in the 1930s. > **[Calvin asks Dad about "old black and white photos"](http://calvin-and-hobbes-comic-strips.blogspot.com/2011/11/calvin-asks-dad-about-old-black-and.html?m=0)** ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/14 "2016-04-13T22:45:55Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > It worked for me. But it took a long time to get to that particular link, because there are so many clickable things on the page. Another quicker way that could work: Type Ctrl-F (opens a search window at the bottom of the screen). Search for something that appears in the text of the link. (I searched for “wikihow”.) Once you have that highlighted, press ESC to close the search window. You may now find that the focus is on that link. At least, that’s how my Firefox browser behaves. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/15 "2016-04-14T00:24:58Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > This is an accessibility feature in all versions of windows that lets you simulate a mouse with a number keypad. The U.S. government requires software applications that it contracts for to be compliant with [Section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act](http://www.section508.gov/content/learn/standards), which provides standards for accessibility by people with disabilities that prevent them from using conventional user interfaces. The standard requires that applications must be able to be used without a mouse, which requires being able to see where the cursor is on the screen. So you can certainly use a PC without a mouse although some applications it accommodate it better than others. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/16 "2016-04-14T00:28:57Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > According to Calvin’s dad, the world was black and white until some time in the 1930s. > > [Calvin and Hobbes Comic strips: Calvin asks Dad about "old black and white photos"](http://calvin-and-hobbes-comic-strips.blogspot.com/2011/11/calvin-asks-dad-about-old-black-and.html?m=0) And that is also why movie flashbacks always used to be in B&W, but are now in “strange color”. The old flashbacks flashed back to when the world was B&W, but that was a long time ago. Now we are just going back the the '70s. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/17 "2016-04-14T00:29:12Z")
One often overlooked key for windows users is the ‘menu’ key, often located next to the right-control key. This will open contextual menus for highlighted objects (similar to right-clicking with a mouse). ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/18 "2016-04-14T01:19:19Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > Somewhere there must have once been instructions on how to navigate and enter without a mouse. I take it the question is "how did one use a GUI before the mouse ? " NO. The mouse came before the GUI - the GUI as we know it anyway. Both came out of Xerox Parc, but outside graphics labs ( computer programmers and computer hardware experts developing graphics systems), the office and home computer users, and even most university computer users, got to use a mouse to assist with text based programs (or to play games), before they got a GUI to operate via mouse. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/19 "2016-04-14T02:26:21Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > I take it the question is "how did one use a GUI before the mouse ? " > > NO. The mouse came before the GUI - the GUI as we know it anyway. > > Both came out of Xerox Parc, but outside graphics labs ( computer programmers and computer hardware experts developing graphics systems), the office and home computer users, and even most university computer users, got to use a mouse to assist with text based programs (or to play games), before they got a GUI to operate via mouse. There were plenty of GUIs made for keyboard only operation. Mouses (mice?) were rare for a long time. Some terminals allowed for a light pen to be used, but it was somewhat cumbersome to switch between that the keyboard. Trackballs and joysticks were also more prevalent before the low cost mouse appeared. Parc decided to use an existing mouse design instead of the those other choices. In the early 80s lower cost mice began to appear as consumer products. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085/20 "2016-04-14T02:31:36Z")
Mice are undoubtedly very useful and I hate having to use a computer without one. But they are also slow and I make an effort to learn how to do everything I routinely do by keyboard if possible. Most routine steps I can do using rote learned keyboard routines faster than it would take me just to get my hand on my mouse. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-use-a-pc-without-a-mouse-can-one/752085.md?page=2)