Double-click

Double-clicking is the act of pressing the left button of a Computer mouse twice. It is different from a single mouse click, as a single mouse click only selects (or highlights) a thing, but a double-click executes an item.

On Icons

By default on most computer systems, For a person to execute a certain software function, he or she will have to click on the left button in quick succession. An example of this can be a person clicking on a Icon (computing).

The speed for a person to double click can be modified by the operating system.

On Text

In a web browser, if a person double clicks on text then the word that is selected. In Unix-type operating systems, it will also copy that piece of text into a clipboard. A person can retrieve the information from the clipboard latter by pressing the scroll button.

Newbies

A Newbie who lacks computer experience may have never used a mouse or if they did, have not have experience into using a mouse. He or she may have trouble double-clicking in particular.

Solutions to this may include:

• Opening the bottom of the mouse, removing the ball and cleaning any debris.
• Clicking on an item and instead of double-click, press the "Enter" key.
• Using keyboard navigation instead of using a mouse.

Patents

In 2004, Microsoft successfully patented the double-click. As a result of this, any U.S. company which uses double-clicking will have to change their product to not use the technology, pay licensing fees to Microsoft or give Microsoft access to intellectual property [1].