2.2 Becoming Familiar with the Common Desktop Environment
2.2.2 Using the mouse and keyboard
The mouse and keyboard are the primary input devices for most computers. You may be working with a Sun Solaris workstation or an Intel-based personal computer running the Solaris operating system. It is helpful to understand the differences between the Sun workstation version and the typical PC version of these two input devices.

The Mouse
A mouse is used with CDE in a similar way as with other graphical user interfaces. The mouse settings can be modified to suit a user's preferences. Once a setting has been modified, that setting can be stored into a user-specific file. This means that any personalized settings will be the default whenever a CDE session is initiated. The mouse used with a Sun workstation has three buttons, a left, middle and a right button. Most personal computers typically have two buttons, a left and a right. The middle mouse button with the Sun workstation is primarily used as a paste button. When using a Sun workstation the middle mouse button is primarily used as a paste button. We will focus on the functions of the left and right buttons so that this information will be applicable to a PC running Solaris for Intel.

The Left Mouse Button
Most actions use the left mouse button, alternatively known as button 1 or the SELECT button. This button is used to make selections in any of the following ways:

  • Make a window active
    (Click the left mouse button while the mouse pointer is in that window area)
  • Invoke a window menu
    (Click on the left mouse button while the mouse pointer is on the window's menu box area)
  • Select an option from the Front Panel
  • Select a File or Folder icon
    (While working with the File Manager)
  • Open an icon
    (Double-click the left mouse button while the pointer is over the icon)
  • Highlight text to be selected
    (Drag over the text area while the left mouse button is being pressed)

The Right Mouse Button
When the right mouse button, or MENU button, is clicked or held down, a menu of choices will appear. This is button 3 on a Sun workstation. The options available on the menu will be determined by the position of the mouse pointer when the right button was pressed.

Note: For the purposes of this course, you will be instructed to left or right click to perform a specific action. This assumes the standard right-hand configuration of the buttons. These notes will instruct you when a double-click is required.

The Keyboard 

PC Keyboard
It is useful to compare the two keyboards so you can work with either one. As with the mouse, the Sun workstation keyboard and the personal computer keyboard differ somewhat.
A typical PC has a keyboard with 104 keys and four major sections or areas on the keyboard:

  • Typewriter Keys (letters, special characters, Ctrl, Shift, Alt and others)
  • Function Keys (F1, F2, F3, etc.)
  • Cursor Management Keys (Insert, Home, End, Arrow keys and others)
  • Numeric Keypad

Sun Workstation Keyboard
The Sun workstation is wider than the typical PC keyboard. It has all of the above keys and a few more for a total of 118. Most of the additional keys are in two additional sections of the keyboard. A section to the left of the keyboard provides 10 keys for window management and common functions such as cut, copy and paste. A large help key is in the top left corner of the keyboard. In the typewriter portion of the keyboard, there are two keys with diamonds on them known as "metakeys." These perform various functions such as alternating between workspaces. Another section exists at the top right which allows control of sound volume. Refer to Figure
for a comparison between the two keyboards.