# Using the Mouse

The mouse can be used for a lot more than just clicking links, including powerful mouse gestures and flexible drag-and-drop operations.

## Basic mouse usage

Operation | Examples of use
--- | ---
Click left button | Click a link Select a bookmark in the Hotlist
Click right button | Multiple options for a link Multiple options for items in the Hotlist Customize the user interface Save image or view image properties
Double-click left button | Translate or look up a word Open a bookmark
Click, move mouse, let go | Drag page icon to Main, Page, Personal or Bookmarks bar Drag page icon to Bookmarks panel Drag a button to a panel or a toolbar
Hold `Ctrl` and click | Select multiple bookmarks
Hold `Shift` and click | Open a link in a new page
Hold `Shift` and double-click | Open a bookmark in a new page
Hold `Ctrl` + `Shift` and click | Open a link in the background
Hold `Ctrl` + `Shift` and double-click | Open a bookmark in the background

Usually, `Shift` means "open in new page", and `Ctrl` + `Shift` means "open in background". Right-clicking something usually opens a context menu with multiple choices.

## Mouse gestures

Mouse gestures exist for most frequently performed operations.

Example: Pressing `Ctrl` on your keyboard while rolling the wheel on your mouse activates zooming.

### Navigation gestures

Action | How to do it
--- | ---
Go to previous page | Method 1: hold right button, click left button Method 2: hold right button, move mouse left
Go to next page | Method 1: hold left button, click right button Method 2: hold right button, move mouse right
Go to parent directory | Hold right button, move up then left
Go to home page | Double-click in empty page
Reload page | Hold right button, move up then down
Stop loading | Hold right button, move up

### Page gestures

Action | How to do it
--- | ---
Browse in new page | Method 1: hold right button, move down Method 2: double-click in workspace or on page bar
Duplicate page | Hold right button, move down then up
Restore or maximize page | Hold right button, move up then right
Minimize page | Hold right button, move down then left
Close page | Method 1: hold right button, move down then right Method 2: hold right button, move right left right

### Link gestures

Action | How to do it
--- | ---
Open link in new page | Move mouse pointer to link and hold right button, move down
Open link in new background page | Move mouse pointer to link and hold right button, move down then up

### Wheel gestures

Action | How to do it
--- | ---
Scroll up and down | Roll mouse wheel up and down
Zoom in and out | Hold `Ctrl` key, roll mouse wheel
Move back and forth in page history | Hold `Shift` key, roll mouse wheel

## Drag and drop

You can drag and drop just about anything in order to browse faster and easily customize the user interface.

### How to drag and drop

The drag-and-drop procedure is simple:

1. Move the mouse pointer to the item you want to drag
2. Click (and hold) the left mouse button
3. Move the mouse pointer to where you want to drop the item
4. Release the mouse button

### Items you can drag

The following items can be dragged:

- Links in Web pages
- Images in Web pages
- Items on the Personal bar
- Buttons on Opera's toolbars
- Hotlist items
- Tabs on the Page bar
- Items in Customize toolbars

Dragged items can be dropped on:

- All toolbars
- The Hotlist (and panels)
- The Page bar
- The Web-page area
- Your computer desktop

### Examples

Listed below are examples of convenient drag-and-drop actions:

Action | How to do it
--- | ---
Save page address as bookmark | Drag page icon from Address bar to Hotlist
Bookmark a link | Drag link from Web page to Hotlist
Download file (e.g. image) | Drag link (or image) to Transfers panel
Show bookmark on Personal bar | Drag bookmark from Hotlist to Personal bar
Bookmark image and show on Personal bar | Drag image from Web page to Personal bar
Rearrange order of toolbar buttons | Drag buttons around
Move buttons between toolbars | Drag button to other toolbar
Open page in a new (separate) application window | Drag tab from Page bar to computer desktop

The best way to learn more about dragging and dropping is simply to play around and discover all the possibilities. Most combinations of drag and drop will produce the most natural, anticipated result.

Tip: Opera toolbars that support drag and drop have a context-menu (right-click) option for restoring toolbar defaults.

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