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One click is better than two, once you make this easy change.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

T e c h n o f i l e
A single click in Windows XP can substitute for a double click, with a simple configuration change


Can OS X do this? Here are some tips.


April 9, 2006


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2006, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2006, The Post-Standard

   One click is better than two.
   Your Web browser shows how important that principle is each time you use it. When you want to open a link in a Web page, all you have to do is hold your mouse pointer over it and click once. This makes navigating the Web easier and faster. It's less confusing, too. You never have to wonder what kind of click you're supposed to do.
   (And if you've ever watched someone with arthritis struggle with a mouse, you already know how helpful single-clicking can be.)
   But what about your computer? Most operations in Windows require double clicks. Is there a way to turn them into single-click functions?
   I thought you'd never ask.
   Normally, to run a program or open a folder in Windows XP, you have to click twice rapidly -- a double click, in other words. You can change that to a single click by doing this:
   Open a folder window. (It can be any folder.)
   Look at the top, where the menu is, and click the "Tools" menu.
   In the Tools menu, click "Folder Options."
   In the section called "Click items as follows," choose "Single-click to open an item (point to select).
   Click "OK" to confirm your choice and close the window.
   With that change, you'll find a significant change in the way Windows responds to your mouse pointer. When your mouse pointer hovers over a program icon or a folder, for example, the item becomes highlighted automatically. Clicking once on the item -- a single click -- runs the program or opens the folder.
   Whenever I mention this technique in any of my talks or seminars, someone always how to select an item without running it or opening it. This is actually simple: Before your mouse pointer gets close to the item, press and hold the mouse button and slide it over the item. (In effect, you didn't click at all. You merely selected.)